HOUSTON (AP) - The troubled Houston crime lab has hired a new DNA section leader.

That means testing can start again six months after it was suspended for the second time since 2002.

The addition of Laura Gahn brings the Houston Police Department into compliance with a state law requiring crime labs to have a supervisor for DNA testing. The Houston Chronicle reports that after Gahn recertifies analysts and equipment, DNA testing can resume.

Houston police shut down the DNA division of their crime lab in January. That was after manager Vanessa Nelson resigned under fire following an investigation that concluded she gave analysts answers to a DNA skills test last year.

It was the second closure since December 2002, when problems with the lab's DNA testing first were revealed. Since then, errors have been discovered in the work of four other crime lab divisions, and three men convicted with faulty evidence have been exonerated.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-06-24-08 1330EDT