Research Updates in Forensic Genetics
A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editor
Interests: legal medicine; medical ethics; sudden cardiac death; forensic toxicology; forensic genetics; disaster victim identification; time since death
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The continuous evolution of forensic molecular biology, driven by technological innovations, active research efforts, and expanded applications, is crucial to delivering reliable, accurate, and timely results for the justice system. Advanced DNA typing techniques, such as Next Generation Sequencing and Single-Cell Analysis, enable a more efficient and informative analysis of scarce, degraded and complex samples, while rapid sequencing emerged to facilitate on-site sample processing. These technological breakthroughs extend beyond personal identification via STR profile comparison. They are now integral for diverse applications, including familial searches, mass disaster victim identification, DNA phenotyping, biological age estimation, and biogeographic ancestry prediction. Furthermore, the field has shifted toward the contextualization of DNA evidence, fostering active research in areas such as environmental DNA, microbial forensics, time since deposition, post-mortem interval estimation, wound dating, and studies on trace DNA transfer, persistence, prevalence, and recovery.
This Special Issue aims to present cutting-edge, original research and applications thereof in routine casework, for both human and non-human samples. It will also highlight the biostatistical tools that underpin these applications and address the pressing social and ethical considerations accompanying these scientific innovations.
Prof. Dr. Massimo Lancia
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- next generation sequencing
- single cell analysis
- time since deposition
- time since death
- DNA phenotyping
- biogeographic ancestry
- age prediction
- familial search
- disaster victim identification
- trace DNA contextualisation
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