Articles

Inferring human history in East Asia from Y chromosomes

East Asia harbors substantial genetic, physical, cultural and linguistic diversity, but the detailed structures and interrelationships of those aspects remain enigmatic. This question has begun to be addressed...

Authors: Chuan-Chao Wang and Hui Li

Clinal distribution of human genomic diversity across the Netherlands despite archaeological evidence for genetic discontinuities in Dutch population history

The presence of a southeast to northwest gradient across Europe in human genetic diversity is a well-established observation and has recently been confirmed by genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) ...

Authors: Oscar Lao, Eveline Altena, Christian Becker, Silke Brauer, Thirsa Kraaijenbrink, Mannis van Oven, Peter Nürnberg, Peter de Knijff and Manfred Kayser

Major historical dietary changes are reflected in the dental microbiome of ancient skeletons

Authors: Antti Sajantila

Purification of crime scene DNA extracts using centrifugal filter devices

The success of forensic DNA analysis is limited by the size, quality and purity of biological evidence found at crime scenes. Sample impurities can inhibit PCR, resulting in partial or negative DNA profiles. V...

Authors: Lina Norén, Ronny Hedell, Ricky Ansell and Johannes Hedman

Long-term RNA persistence in postmortem contexts

Ribonucleic acids (RNA) are generally considered fragile molecules that are readily degraded. However, there is growing documentation of long-term (from days to centuries) RNA persistence in a variety of conte...

Authors: Sarah L Fordyce, Marie-Louise Kampmann, Nienke L van Doorn and M Thomas P Gilbert

Where is the game? Wild meat products authentication in South Africa: a case study

Wild animals’ meat is extensively consumed in South Africa, being obtained either from ranching, farming or hunting. To test the authenticity of the commercial labels of meat products in the local market, we o...

Authors: Maria Eugenia D’Amato, Evguenia Alechine, Kevin Wesley Cloete, Sean Davison and Daniel Corach

Flogging a dead horse

Authors: Mark A Jobling

ENCODE and its first impractical application

Authors: Bruce Budowle

Bona fide colour: DNA prediction of human eye and hair colour from ancient and contemporary skeletal remains

DNA analysis of ancient skeletal remains is invaluable in evolutionary biology for exploring the history of species, including humans. Contemporary human bones and teeth, however, are relevant in forensic DNA ...

Authors: Jolanta Draus-Barini, Susan Walsh, Ewelina Pośpiech, Tomasz Kupiec, Henryk Głąb, Wojciech Branicki and Manfred Kayser

Comment on Kokshoorn, B, and Blankers, BJ ‘Response to Grisedale, KS and van Daal, A: comparison of STR profiling from low template DNA extracts with and without the consensus profiling method’

Kokshoorn and Blankers responded to our recent article by saying that replicate analysis and consensus profiling of low template samples was best in terms of reliability and objectivity. We agree that the cons...

Authors: Kelly Grisedale and Angela van Daal

Response to Grisedale and Van Daal: comparison of STR profiling from low template DNA extracts with and without the consensus profiling method

In a recent contribution to this journal Grisedale and Van Daal concluded that a single STR analysis of all available template DNA is to be preferred over replicate analyses and a consensus approach when analy...

Authors: Bas Kokshoorn and Bart J Blankers

The bishop and the actress

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Editors’ pick: Christmas is coming - time for chocolate to get ready for your Nobel Prize

Authors: Manfred Kayser

Isolating DNA from sexual assault cases: a comparison of standard methods with a nuclease-based approach

Profiling sperm DNA present on vaginal swabs taken from rape victims often contributes to identifying and incarcerating rapists. Large amounts of the victim’s epithelial cells contaminate the sperm present on ...

Authors: Alex M Garvin, Andrea Fischer, Jutta Schnee-Griese, Andrea Jelinski, Michel Bottinelli, Gianni Soldati, Monica Tubio, Vincent Castella, Nathalie Monney, Naseem Malik and Michelle Madrid

Editors’ pick: codeine toxicity prediction in young infants – genotype the mothers

Authors: Antti Sajantila

High diversity and no significant selection signal of human ADH1B gene in Tibet

ADH1B is one of the most studied human genes with many polymorphic sites. One of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1229984, coding for the Arg48His substitution, have been associated with many serious d...

Authors: Yan Lu, Longli Kang, Kang Hu, Chuanchao Wang, Xiaoji Sun, Feng Chen, Judith R Kidd, Kenneth K Kidd and Hui Li

Socially responsible genetic research with descendants of the First Australians

Aboriginal Australians, one of the world’s indigenous peoples now outnumbered through colonization, are the most under-represented in genetic research because they feel that the benefits do not outweigh the so...

Authors: Sheila M van Holst Pellekaan

Significant others

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Genomic view on the peopling of India

India is known for its vast human diversity, consisting of more than four and a half thousand anthropologically well-defined populations. Each population differs in terms of language, culture, physical feature...

Authors: Rakesh Tamang and Kumarasamy Thangaraj

High throughput DNA sequencing to detect differences in the subgingival plaque microbiome in elderly subjects with and without dementia

To investigate the potential association between oral health and cognitive function, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate high throughput DNA sequencing of the V3 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene for de...

Authors: Andrew F Cockburn, Jonathan M Dehlin, Tiffany Ngan, Richard Crout, Goran Boskovic, James Denvir, Donald Primerano, Brenda L Plassman, Bei Wu and Christopher F Cuff

Introducing the Forensic Research/Reference on Genetics knowledge base, FROG-kb

Online tools and databases based on multi-allelic short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs) are actively used in forensic teaching, research, and investigations. The Fst value of each CODIS marker tends to be ...

Authors: Haseena Rajeevan, Usha Soundararajan, Andrew J Pakstis and Kenneth K Kidd

Illegal hunting cases detected with molecular forensics in Brazil

Illegal hunting is one of the major threats to vertebrate populations in tropical regions. This unsustainable practice has serious consequences not only for the target populations, but also for the dynamics an...

Authors: Alexandra Sanches, Paola M Tokumoto, Wellington AM Peres, Fernando L Nunes, Mariana ST Gotardi, Carolina S Carvalho, Cristiane Pelizzon, Tamissa G Godoi and Mauro Galetti

A Bayesian network approach to the database search problem in criminal proceedings

The ‘database search problem’, that is, the strengthening of a case - in terms of probative value - against an individual who is found as a result of a database search, has been approached during the last two ...

Authors: Alex Biedermann, Joëlle Vuille and Franco Taroni

Editors’ Pick: A real Caucasian and the genetic investigation of Caucasus peoples

Authors: Manfred Kayser

Comparison of STR profiling from low template DNA extracts with and without the consensus profiling method

The consensus profiling method was introduced to overcome the exaggerated stochastic effects associated with low copy number DNA typing. However, little empirical evidence has been provided which shows that a ...

Authors: Kelly S Grisedale and Angela van Daal

Boys and girls

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of 114 hairs measuring less than 1 cm from a 19-year-old homicide

Mitochondrial DNA analysis is typically applied to degraded skeletal remains and telogen or rootless hairs. Data on the application of the method to very small hairs less than 0.5 cm from an age-matched and -c...

Authors: Terry Melton, Gloria Dimick, Bonnie Higgins, Michele Yon and Charity Holland

Editors’ Pick: Normal aging versus Alzheimer’s disease – expression patterns may discern the differences

Authors: Bruce Budowle

Method: a single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping method for Wheat streak mosaic virus

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon increased the concern about the potential for terrorist attacks on many vulnerable sectors of the US, including agriculture. The concen...

Authors: Stephanie M Rogers, Mark Payton, Robert W Allen, Ulrich Melcher, Jesse Carver and Jacqueline Fletcher

The Y chromosome and the heartache of males

Authors: Antti Sajantila

The iceman cometh

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Understanding human evolutionary history: a meeting report of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences symposium of modern human genetic variation

A report on the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences Symposium on Modern Human Genetic Variation. Stockholm, Sweden. January 19-20, 2012.

Authors: Joshua M Akey

Development of a fast PCR protocol enabling rapid generation of AmpFℓSTR^® Identifiler^® profiles for genotyping of human DNA

Traditional PCR methods for forensic STR genotyping require approximately 2.5 to 4 hours to complete, contributing a significant portion of the time required to process forensic DNA samples. The purpose of thi...

Authors: Amanda Foster and Nancy Laurin

The unexpected always happens

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Editors' Pick: Of Horses and Genes'

Authors: Manfred Kayser

Response to: Use of prior odds for missing persons identifications - authors' reply

Please see related article: http://​www.​investigativegen​etics.​com/​content/​3/​1/​2

Authors: Bruce Budowle, Jianye Ge, Ranajit Chakraborty and Harrell Gill-King

Reply to Budowle, Ge, Chakraborty and Gill-King: use of prior odds for missing persons identifications

Prior probabilities represent a core element of the Bayesian probabilistic approach to relatedness testing. This letter opinions on the commentary Use of prior odds for missing persons identifications by Budowle ...

Authors: Alex Biedermann, Franco Taroni and Pierre Margot

Developing criteria and data to determine best options for expanding the core CODIS loci

Recently, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Core Loci Working Group established by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reviewed and recommended changes to the CODIS core loci. The Working Group id...

Authors: Jianye Ge, Arthur Eisenberg and Bruce Budowle

Appy Christmas

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Contrasting signals of positive selection in genes involved in human skin-color variation from tests based on SNP scans and resequencing

Numerous genome-wide scans conducted by genotyping previously ascertained single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have provided candidate signatures for positive selection in various regions of the human genome...

Authors: Johanna Maria de Gruijter, Oscar Lao, Mark Vermeulen, Yali Xue, Cara Woodwark, Christopher J Gillson, Alison J Coffey, Qasim Ayub, S Qasim Mehdi, Manfred Kayser and Chris Tyler-Smith

Next-generation sequencing technologies and applications for human genetic history and forensics

Rapid advances in the development of sequencing technologies in recent years have enabled an increasing number of applications in biology and medicine. Here, we review key technical aspects of the preparation ...

Authors: Eva C Berglund, Anna Kiialainen and Ann-Christine Syvänen

Policy implications for familial searching

In the United States, several states have made policy decisions regarding whether and how to use familial searching of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in criminal investigations. Familial search...

Authors: Joyce Kim, Danny Mammo, Marni B Siegel and Sara H Katsanis

Father figures

Authors: Mark A Jobling

The identification of the Romanovs: Can we (finally) put the controversies to rest?

For much of the 20^th century the fate of the last Imperial family of Russia, the Romanovs, was a mystery after their execution in 1918. In the mid 1970s the mass grave of the Romanov family (minus two of the chil...

Authors: Michael D Coble

Review of "Haldane, Mayr, and Beanbag Genetics" by Krishna Dronamraju

Authors: Ken Weiss

The Baron's complaint

Authors: Mark A Jobling

Long-term room temperature preservation of corpse soft tissue: an approach for tissue sample storage

Disaster victim identification (DVI) represents one of the most difficult challenges in forensic sciences, and subsequent DNA typing is essential. Collected samples for DNA-based human identification are usual...

Authors: Mariela Caputo, Luis A Bosio and Daniel Corach

Feather barbs as a good source of mtDNA for bird species identification in forensic wildlife investigations

The ability to accurately identify bird species is crucial for wildlife law enforcement and bird-strike investigations. However, such identifications may be challenging when only partial or damaged feathers ar...

Authors: Camilla F Speller, George P Nicholas and Dongya Y Yang

Use of prior odds for missing persons identifications

Identification of missing persons from mass disasters is based on evaluation of a number of variables and observations regarding the combination of features derived from these variables. DNA typing now is play...

Authors: Bruce Budowle, Jianye Ge, Ranajit Chakraborty and Harrell Gill-King

Genes and queens

Authors: Mark A Jobling