NIST Builds Statistical Foundation for Next-Generation Forensic DNA Profiling

DNA is often considered the most reliable form of forensic evidence, and this reputation is based on the way DNA experts use statistics. When they compare the DNA left at a crime scene with the DNA of a suspect, experts generate statistics that describe how closely those DNA samples match. A jury can then take […]

Sorting Out the Prickly Topic of Genealogical Searching – INFOGRAPHIC

While genetic genealogy isn’t a new technology, the recent successes that genealogical searching has had in solving close cases and giving names to those who were previously unidentified has brought it to the forefront of the media. But what is genealogical searching, and should there be limitations to when and how it’s used? If you’re […]

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!     The Bloodstains on The Shroud Of Turin are Probably Fake, Say Forensic […]

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!     Which Company Will Test the DNA of Separated Families? (The Atlantic – 7/7/2018) […]

Giving Names to the Victims of the Ardeatine Massacre

On the outskirts of Rome, Italy lies Fosse Ardeatine (the Ardeatine Caves). If you were to visit on March 24th, you’d hear a role call of 335 names being called out to remember those who were brutally executed at this site by the Nazis in 1944 during the Ardeatine Massacre. On March 23, 1944, 16 […]

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!     DNA Doe Project Names Another, Giving Major Piece in Infamous Ohio Mystery (Forensic […]

Is it the Blood of Louis XVI?

The ill-fated Louis XVI was a French king who was famously beheaded along with his wife, Marie-Antoinette, during the French Revolution in 1793. Witnesses to the execution dipped handkerchiefs in the king’s blood and kept them as souvenirs of the common people’s rebellion. In 2010, scientists published the presumptive DNA profile of the king, obtained […]

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!     DNA Swabs Test: Good Absorption, but Less Than 50 Percent Recovery (Forensic Magazine […]

Questions of Genome Privacy and Protection

In April 2018, law enforcement officials announced the arrest of a suspect in the Golden State Killer case (New York Times ). Shortly after the announcement, those same law enforcement officers explained that detectives had used a public forensic genealogy web site to help identify the killer. What does it mean when a law enforcement agency […]