Loveless Lost: The Case of the Oldest Doe Identified Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy
In the summer of 1979, a family was searching for artifacts in Buffalo Cave, a dark lava tube outside of the small and remote town of Dubois, Idaho. Approximately 200 feet from the opening of the cave, the family discovered a burlap sack containing a mummified, clothed, and dismembered headless torso. The Clark County Sheriff’s […]
Forensic Scientist of Note: Dr. Lutz Roewer
Dr. Lutz Roewer is one of the renowned forensic scientists who transformed DNA forensics through studying the Y-chromosome and demonstrating the value of Y-STR analysis for forensic casework. The use of a YSTR profile can help by excluding male suspects, or indicating multiple male contributors, or provide information that can be used to help find […]
Forensic Scientist of Note: Walther Parson
One of the most familiar names in forensic genomics is Dr. Walther Parson. An Associate Professor at the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck, his resume is long and is filled with many notable accomplishments. He supervised the establishment of the Austrian National DNA Database Laboratory in 1997, where he currently […]
Advancing Forensic Science in Latin America
The Grupo Cientifico Latino-Americano de Trabajo Sobre Identificación Humana or Latin American Scientific group on Human Identification Work began at ISHI 21 in 2010. It was formed to allow opinion leaders and forensic scientists from Latin America to exchange information, challenges and knowledge in their own languages: Spanish and Portuguese. This meeting connects the Latin […]
The Foundling: Resolving a Case of Unknown Parentage Through the Use of Genetic Genealogy
On April 27, 1964, a nurse came into the hospital room of Dora Fronczak, who had just given birth to her young son, Paul. She took the baby and left, saying it was time to take the baby to the nursery. In reality, the nurse had stolen the baby. Authorities were never able to find […]
Writing the Books on Forensic DNA: Dr. John Butler
Dr. John Butler has both taught and inspired many in the field of forensic DNA. In this interview, Mirna Ghemrawi, PhD student at Florida International University and former ISHI student ambassador, helps us to get to know John a little better. She asks him about what led him to become an author, what advice he […]
The Future of Forensic Science: An Interview with Athina Vidaki
Athina Vidaki, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands discusses the newest technologies and techniques in forensic science. From sequencing an entire genome from just a few cells, to predicting age and appearance from blood or saliva samples, the future of forensic casework is developing rapidly. […]
Beyond Genetic Genealogy: Building Family Trees to Investigate Crime
“Class! Class!” Diahan Southard raises her voice and claps twice, cutting through the buzz of conversation that fills the room. Dutifully, her class responds. “Yes! Yes!” It’s a technique that Southard has learned from her experience with raising three children and over 20 years of teaching. Her audience is broken up into small […]
Under the Microscope – Nicole Novroski
De-convolution of complex mixtures can be challenging. Various improvements in polymerase chain reaction coupled with capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) and massively parallel sequencing (MPS) chemistries coupled with downstream statistical analyses have been developed and implemented to better resolve two or more person DNA mixtures. However, current genotyping outputs describe STR variation solely based on allele size […]
