forensics

Microbes on decomposing bodies inform forensic investigations.

Digging into how and why some genes are resurrected after death sounds morbid, but it has practical applications. 

Look-alikes are also more likely to share lifestyle traits.

A forensic investigation of Seqenenre Taa II’s traumatic injuries suggests he died with his hands tied behind his back, perhaps the end result of fighting to liberate his kingdom.

Using pigs as human proxies, forensic entomologists reveal how bodies in vehicles decompose differently from those dumped outside.

An investigation reveals that the government is developing technology to try to reconstruct a person’s appearance based on a genetic sample, raising concerns for the rights of Muslim minority groups in the country.

Researchers develop a washing method that is better at removing drugs that have contaminated hair from the outside than existing protocols.

Investigators have the victims’ samples in hand, but face a range of obstacles before they can finally ID them.

Scientists in the U.K., in collaboration with members of the judiciary, have launched the first in a series of explanatory documents designed to help integrate science into the courtroom.

Watch Niamh Nic Daéid’s TedX talk about forensic evidence in the courtroom.

RNA-sequencing data reveal that specific tissues have distinct changes in gene expression after an individual has passed away.

A genetic library for African rhinoceros populations has helped match illegally trafficked products to individual poached animals in more than 120 criminal cases. 

Defense attorneys allege New York City used “unreliable” methods on DNA evidence in thousands of cases.

Anthropologists make use of forensic science to delve into historical mysteries.

March for Science, Trumping the EPA, the French election, and more

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is terminating a commission in which independent researchers and federal agencies seek to improve forensic science standards.

Genes linked to embryonic development, stress, and cancer are increasingly transcribed into RNA after these animals die.

The facility—the first of its kind in Europe—will help researchers study what happens to decomposing bodies.

Meet the researchers working to untangle the mystery of a Missouri home filled with bones by bringing cutting-edge technologies into the crime lab.