Fatal stabbings are the leading cause of homicide in countries with restricted access to firearms, including Australia. New research could help solve these cases.
As a forensic scientist who has worked at thousands of homicide, sexual assault and serious crime scenes, I can tell you the process is not as straightforward as depicted on popular true crime shows.
Lightning storm over Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dr Carina Schumann, Johannesburg Lightning Research Lab, University of the Witwatersrand.
Not much is known about the pathology of trauma of black mamba bites – that is, what the black mamba’s toxin does, physically, inside a victim’s system.
How can you navigate a world full of outlandish claims?
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Forensic scientists are trained to disprove claims. This sort of thinking is useful when you’re trying to make sense of “miracle cures”, “wonder drugs” and other fantastic claims.
The discovery of Richard III’s skeletal remains under a car park in Leicester revealed the final resting place of the last English monarch to die in battle. We know that he was killed at the Battle of…
The physiological stress of the heat accumulates and takes its toll after two or three days.
AAP Image/Joe Castro
David Ranson, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
Hopefully the southern Australian heatwave is coming to an end – for now. But for health-care providers and death investigators, such as me, the fallout will continue for some time to come. It’s unclear…
Silent Witness, more added glam to the final exam.
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Judy Melinek, University of California, San Francisco
Pulling bullets out of homicide victims makes up part of my job as a forensic pathologist, but not the most interesting part. No, I love a head-scratcher. Dead for no clear reason is the real whodunit…