It’s been 900 or so years since these primates—officially known as Xenothrix mcgregori—last lounged in Jamaica’s tropical trees, but thanks to a new DNA analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we now know more about them than ever before.
Nov 16 2018
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!
California Fires: Specialist DNA Teams Called in to Identify the 25 Dead (Mirror – 11/11/2018)
The Department of Justice has sent its mobile DNA lab while the California State Chico anthropology team was also called in, identifying bones and bone fragments from the scorched rubble.
DNA Forensic Pioneer Eisenberg Passes at 62 (Forensic Magazine – 11/12/2018)
- Dr. Art Eisenberg was a pioneer of forensic DNA science and helped make identifications in many major cases and events over the decades.
Hawksbill Turtle Poaching to be Fought with DNA Technology (The Guardian – 11/12/2018)
Warmer Winter Temperatures Linked to Increased Crime, Study Finds (Forensic Magazine – 11/13/2018)
Milder winter weather increased regional crime rates in the United States over the past several decades, according to new research that suggests crime is related to temperature’s effect on daily activities.
New Forensic Journal ‘FSI: Synergy’ Aims to Get Niche (Forensic Magazine – 11/13/2018)
How does one get the entire forensic science community on the same page?
One new academic journal proposes the way is through an open-access online publication tackling interdisciplinary policy and management questions that could affect everybody, from crime-laboratory directors, to forensic analysts, to police detectives.
He or She? Remains Tell the Whole Tooth (Technology Networks – 11/13/2018)
A team led by UC Davis researchers have come up with a new way to estimate the biological sex of human skeletal remains based on protein traces from teeth.
Genealogy Cracks Another Cold-Case Homicide in Carlsbad (Forensic Magazine – 11/14/2018)
The 2007 murder of Jodine Serrin has been solved through genetic genealogy after over a decade, authorities say. Genealogists Barbara Rae-Venter and Colleen Fitzpatrick, as well as Parabon NanoLabs, helped make the DNA connection to David Mabrito.
DNA Analysis Offers Insights on Origins of Extinct Jamaican Monkey (Smithsonian – 11/14/2018)
DNA Testing Identifies Soldier Remains After ‘Needle-in-a-Haystack’ Search for Descendants (ABC.net – 11/14/2018)
Science is helping solve some of Australia’s most enduring military mysteries, finding names of previously unidentified soldiers who died more than a hundred years ago.
How Scavengers Can Help Forensic Scientists Identify Human Corpses (Phys Org – 11/14/2018)
The University of Cape Town has researched decomposition since 2014. The results have helped to understand the role that scavenging plays in calculating post-mortem intervals and has already been applied to active forensic cases.
New Hampshire’s Most Infamous Cold Case Leads to Unrelated 1985 Tenn. Homicide (Forensic Magazine – 11/14/2018)
- Perhaps the most infamous homicide cold case in American history had an unintended breakthrough: identifying a murder victim found by the side of an interstate in 1985, authorities announced today.It all came down to the search for an elusive “Elizabeth”—and the filing of a missing-persons report, 33 years after a runaway girl was last seen at her home in New Hampshire.
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