The study of ancient DNA is helping to solve modern crimes
Such techniques have helped secure two convictions this year
ESKE WILLERSLEV was an unusual witness for a murder trial. An expert in ancient DNA (aDNA) at the University of Copenhagen, his day job involved studying the lives of prehistoric peoples and extinct megafauna. And yet over the summer of 2024 he was asked to persuade a jury that he had something to offer in another field altogether: crime-scene investigation.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “The faintest trace”
From the October 26th 2024 edition
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