Exploring the Value of Biogeographic Ancestry in the Absence of a DNA Database
There are many scenarios encountered in forensic casework in which bone may be the only viable sample type for DNA testing, including fires, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, war conflicts, airline crashes, homicides, human trafficking, and mass graves. In these cases, the condition of recovered human remains can range from relatively intact to highly degraded and/or […]
Re-identification of the Titanic’s Unknown Child
On April 15, 1912, the Royal Mail Ship Titanic sank after striking an iceberg. Only 712 of the 2209 passengers survived. Within days of the disaster, the Mackay-Bennett was dispatched to recover the victims, one of which was a boy estimated to be 2 or 3 years of age. Efforts to identify the boy were in vain, although there […]
Ancient DNA is a Powerful Tool for Studying the Past – When Archaeologists and Geneticists Work Together
Written by: Elizabeth Sawchuk, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York) and Mary Prendergast, Saint Louis University – Madrid DNA has moved beyond esoteric science and into the center of everyday conversations about identity, culture and politics. It’s also reshaping stories about the past as advances allow scientists to extract ancient DNA […]
The Monster of Durrës
On October 11, 2012, an 18 year-old girl was found murdered and decapitated in the Durrës District of Albania. The victim, Ajshe Vata, was a good and honest girl who had a religious background. At the time of her death, she was not known to be in a relationship and was doing very well at […]
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 […]
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 […]
DNA Typing Confirms Bronze Age Mix-and-Match Burials
Archaeologists have made an interesting discovery while excavating the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age settlement named Cladh Hallan on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. They have uncovered four human skeletons buried at regular intervals beneath three roundhouses dating from the 11th century BC: an adult male, an adult female, a 10–14-year-old girl and a […]
The Killer of Little Shepherds
Douglas Starr, Professor of Science Journalism at Boston University, tells the story of the people who invented forensic science, the first criminal profile, and the first serial killer brought to justice using these techniques. <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> TRANSCRIPT: My name is Douglas Starr. I’m […]
Raised as Paul Fronczak, Genetic Genealogy Uncovers His True Identity
Paul Fronczak spent his life wondering if he was a baby who’d been kidnapped from a Chicago hospital. As an adult, DNA tests confirmed that detectives had gotten it wrong. CeCe Moore, founder of The DNA Detectives describes how she was able to use commercial DNA databases to help Paul uncover his true identity. […]
