Recreating Faces of Egyptian Mummies Using Ancient DNA
In this interview, Ellen Greytak (Director of Bioinformatics at Parabon Nanolabs) discusses how DNA advances have changed the field of anthropology and what we know about ancient humans. She also describes her poster presented at the 32nd International Symposium on Human Identification in which she shared the predicted faces of three ancient mummies from […]
The Missing Piece Episode 5: Darrell Splett (McHenry County John Doe)
Hikers in the Rush Creek Conservation Area of Harvard, Illinois discovered a body near the Rush Creek Trails in May 2019. The McHenry County Conservation Police responded to the scene and discovered the remains of a middle-aged white man. He was clothed in winter attire including multiple layers, a hat, hand-knitted scarf, and […]
Reliving the Best Moments of ISHI 32
The 20th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks marks a moment in the history of the United States like no other. The attacks cast a shadow over American life and defined the new century and a war on terror. The aftermath of these attacks was not confined to weeks or months but continues today. […]
September 2021 Issue of The ISHI Report Now Live
We hope you are staying well as summer draws to a close. Just in time for your Labor Day weekend reading is the next issue of The ISHI Report. There is still time to register for ISHI 32 with options to attend either in person at the Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida […]
Staying Strong: NYC OCME Reflects on 9/11
It is a day most of us will never forget. We will always remember where we were, what we were doing, or who we were with on September 11, 2001. To most New Yorkers, it was a typical start to the day. The sights and sounds were common and typical; honking horns, people filling […]
The Missing Piece Episode 4: Shawna Beth Garber (Grace Doe)
In December 1990, a couple walking on a rural road in Southwest Missouri discovered the decomposed remains of a young woman. She had been hog-tied and dumped next to an abandoned farmhouse. Detective Howard was told that it would be only by the “Grace of God” that they could find out who she […]
The Missing Piece Episode 3: Rodney Johnson (Lake Stickney John Doe)
The search for answers began in 1994 when a fisherman discovered a body in the lake. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s office determined the deceased to be between 25 and 35 years old and the victim of a violent homicide. Multiple varied facial reconstructions were made for the victim over the years, in […]
The State of DNA Forensics in Latin America
In this interview, Ronaldo Carneiro de Silva Junior, Custodian of the National DNA Database of Brazil, discusses challenges the Latin American region faces around forensic DNA, projects they are currently working on, and how cooperation throughout the region has led to successes. Transcript: Laura: Hello, and welcome to the annual video […]
DNA as an Eyewitness: Phenotyping Applications for Forensic DNA
Like many teenage girls in the 1990s, Dr. Susan Walsh, Associate Professor at IUPUI, was fascinated by Agent Dana Scully’s work as a forensic pathologist on the television series, The X-Files. Recognizing that there was much to be gained in the field of forensics from DNA phenotyping, she wanted to research methodologies that would enable […]
