During the investigation into the 2004 Madrid train bombings, scientists used DNA from a toothbrush to identify one of the suspects as North African in origin.

BBC: Painting a suspect's portrait with DNA

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish court Wednesday delivered an unexpectedly mixed verdict in the trial of 28 defendants charged in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, convicting three of mass murder but delivering lesser convictions against the others.

CNN: Spain condemns terror verdict

In March 2004, luck helped to bring the leader of Spain's Socialists to power: he was trailing in the polls until a cack-handed attempt by the ruling centre-right People's Party to blame the Madrid train bombings three days before the election on Basque separatists.

ECONOMIST: Spain's election

Like the pre-election bombings in Madrid's train system last year, those today were timed to capitalize upon and affect a major political event: the G-8 summit meeting being hosted by Britain at Gleneagles, Scotland.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: War footing