There is an increasing interest in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing in the forensic field, not only for the usefulness of SNPs for defining Y chromosome or mtDNA haplogroups or for analyzing the geographical origin of samples, but also for the potential applications of autosomal SNPs. The interest of forensic researchers in autosomal SNPs has been attracted due to the potential advan...

In forensic genetics mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is usually analyzed by direct Sanger-type sequencing (STS). This method is known to be laborious and sometimes prone to human error. Alternative methods have been proposed that lead to faster results. Among these are methods that involve mass-spectrometry resulting in base composition profiles that are, by definition, less informative than the full...

Human saliva is one of the valuable resources for the identification of genetic markers. A number of polymorphisms are found in salivary proteins and enzymes. They could provide the important information for genetic studies and forensic science. Polymorphic proteins in saliva show very unique composition of amino acids, which are named proline-rich proteins (PRPs). Proline-rich proteins have so...

Exact identification of an insect sample is usually the first essential step in a forensic entomological analysis. However, the morphological similarity of beetles in the level of species usually poses a challenge for forensic scientists within their routine work. As a supplementary to traditional morphological method, molecular genetics identification turns out to be simple and time-saving. A ...

Pneumoviruses are responsible for significant respiratory disease in their hosts and represent a major problemfor human and animal health. Pneumoviruses are members of the family Paramyxoviridae, subfamilyPneumovirinae and the virus particles consist of a negative-sense, nonsegmented RNA genome within a helical nucleocapsid structure enveloped in a lipid membrane derived from the ho...

Despite the advances in the understanding of neural and genetic foundations of violence, the investigation of the biological bases of a mental disorder is rarely included in psychiatric evaluation of mental insanity. Here we report on a case in which cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics methods were applied to a psychiatric forensic evaluation conducted on a young woman, J.F., tried f...

Introduction: PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a technique of cell biology, developed and conceptualized by biochemist Kary Banks Mullis in the 80's. The repercussion impact granted Nobel Prize chemistry shortly after this method had recognized for providing advances research, especially molecular biology. This brought advantages that led genetic sequencing to several branches, among them, ar...

Forensic psychiatrists serve to bridge the divide between medical issues and legal operations. Forensic practice deals with the coexistence of medical, legal, and ethical issues within a sociopolitical and legal framework (Sharma and Sharma, 2006). The areas of forensic practice include evaluation of competency, insanity, child custody, and testament recapacity (Wettstein, 2002). In addition, f...

Around two and a half decades back, the technique of forensic DNA fingerprinting has made the criminal case investigations and justice delivery system much more proficient in context of time and accuracy both. Almost 100 years after the release of the famous character Sherlock Holmes [1], a discovery very strongly attracted the attention of forensic scientists and investigating agencies with it...