Forensic science international最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of a hybridization capture-based hereditary panel for forensic DNA analysis using next-generation sequencing","authors":"Xi Xiong ,&nbsp;Haisong Weng ,&nbsp;Minghui Jin ,&nbsp;Kuiyun Huang ,&nbsp;Jing Zhong ,&nbsp;Gongda Yang ,&nbsp;Fengbo Zeng ,&nbsp;Lu Xiong ,&nbsp;Min Li ,&nbsp;Hua Wang ,&nbsp;Shaohua Yi","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112594","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112594","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Short tandem repeats (STR) remains the forensic gold standard genetic marker but face limitations with trace and degraded DNA. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) offers significant potential to overcome these constraints. This study developed a novel hybridization capture-based SNP panel integrated with next-generation sequencing (NGS) for forensic DNA analysis. Using 8,464 unrelated Chinese Han individuals, we established population-specific allele frequencies for 2,998 biallelic SNPs (2,817 autosomal; 181 sex-chromosomal) after rigorous quality control. Exclusion of 19 SNPs deviating from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and 8 SNPs in linkage disequilibrium (LD) yielded a final panel of 2,790 autosomal SNPs. The system demonstrated exceptional sensitivity, enabling reliable forensic analysis with 0.1 ng DNA input. Comparable genotyping performance was observed across diverse biological samples (blood cards, sperm stains, oral swabs, nails, hair roots) at 1–5 ng inputs. Although prolonged storage (3 months) reduced SNP recovery universally, buccal swabs exhibited more temporal stability than other substrates (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). The panel achieved a total discrimination power (TDP) of 1–4.75 × 10^-1149 and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) of 1–4.61 × 10^-149. Statistical simulations indicated that 31 SNPs suffice for identity determination, while 270 SNPs enable conclusive parentage testing in duo cases with 100 % sensitivity. This NGS-based solution provides robust forensic identification and kinship analysis, offering enhanced degradation tolerance, broad sample applicability, and population-tailored resolution for the Han Chinese cohort.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112594"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144842536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technical note: Forensic investigation of mosquito nets","authors":"Tamás Vörös,&nbsp;Ágnes Károly","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mosquito nets are among the sample types that often occur in forensic investigations. In the case of various crimes (e.g. break-in, vandalism, burglary), they can be used as supportive evidence of a link between the control sample and the suspect's clothing, or the tool used to commit the crime. The primary aim of our work was to determine how different the individual samples are from a forensic aspect. The material residues generated in real-life criminal cases are typically microscopic in size (below 1 mm), which limits the applicability of macroscopic observations. Therefore, our focus shifted from macroscopically observable characteristics to instrumental techniques suitable for microscopic analysis. In addition to documenting macroscopic properties, three analytical methods were used, refractive index determination, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. A total of 50 mosquito net samples were examined, of which 35 are fiberglass. The members of 434 out of the total 595 possible pairs can be distinguished from each other using only refractive index measurement. The fiberglass samples can be classified into 7 groups based on the infrared spectra of their plastic coating. The discrimination power of this method was found to be 73 %. Based on the Raman spectra, it was possible to make 10 groups from the 35 samples with a 76 % discrimination power. Any of the two techniques together resulted in a discrimination power over 80 %, and examining the three techniques, this value was found to be as high as 88 %. In less commonly real cases with adequate sample size and condition, macroscopic properties can also be assessed, increasing the overall discrimination power up to 98 %. Among the purely plastic samples, infrared analysis allows only limited differentiation due to the similarity of their polymer structures. Based on the infrared spectra, out of the 15 purely plastic samples, 11 are made of polyethylene-terephthalate, 3 are made of polyethylene, and 1 is made of polypropylene. However, if the sample size and conditions are appropriate, macroscopic features can provide a discrimination power of over 92 %. Based on these results, we can conclude that the applied methods have a sufficiently good discriminating power in the case of mosquito net samples.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"377 ","pages":"Article 112595"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial – Special issue IAFS 2023","authors":"Marie Morelato,&nbsp;Alistair Ross,&nbsp;Chris Lennard,&nbsp;Claude Roux","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112592","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112592"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144798628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Author response to Commentary on “Accuracy and reproducibility of bullet comparison decisions by forensic examiners”","authors":"R. Austin Hicklin ,&nbsp;Nicole Richetelli ,&nbsp;Melissa Taylor ,&nbsp;Brandi L. Emerick ,&nbsp;Robert M. Thompson","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112591","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112591","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112591"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144803932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A response to EA-4/23 INF:2025 “The Assessment and Accreditation of Opinions and Interpretations using ISO/IEC 17025:2017”","authors":"Geoffrey Stewart Morrison ,&nbsp;Alex Biedermann ,&nbsp;Matt Tart ,&nbsp;Didier Meuwly ,&nbsp;Charles E.H. Berger ,&nbsp;June Guiness ,&nbsp;Max M. Houck ,&nbsp;Caroline Gibb ,&nbsp;A. Philip Dawid ,&nbsp;Kyriakos N. Kotsoglou ,&nbsp;David H. Kaye ,&nbsp;Phil Rose ,&nbsp;Franco Taroni ,&nbsp;Bas Kokshoorn ,&nbsp;Michael J. Saks ,&nbsp;John S. Buckleton ,&nbsp;James M. Curran ,&nbsp;Duncan Taylor ,&nbsp;Cuiling Zhang ,&nbsp;Joëlle Vuille ,&nbsp;Denise Syndercombe Court","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112589","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112589","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112589"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144827401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Commentary on “R. Austin Hicklin et al. Accuracy and reproducibility of bullet comparison decisions by forensic examiners” [Forensic Sci. Int. 365 (2024) 112287]","authors":"Emily J. Prokesch ,&nbsp;Richard E. Gutierrez","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112590","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112590"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144798627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic sex prediction from human gut shotgun metagenomic data: An ethical appraisal","authors":"Sahid Afrid Mollick","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112585","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112585","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human DNA inadvertently captured during gut shotgun metagenomic sequencing is typically treated as background contamination, yet it can reveal sensitive personal traits, raising ethical and forensic concerns. In this study, fecal metagenomes from 626 individuals were processed using four DNA extraction protocols and both paired and single-end sequencing, to evaluate the extent of identifiable human information. Host-derived reads exhibited uniform chromosomal coverage, enabling the accurate prediction of genetic sex based on the Y-to-X read-depth ratio. A machine learning model trained on this metric achieved over 92 % accuracy with the detection threshold (-β₀/β₁) = 0.34 across different protocols and sequencing configurations, demonstrating the method’s robustness and general applicability. These findings highlight that even low levels of residual human DNA in microbiome datasets are sufficient to infer individual traits, such as sex, which can compromise participant anonymity. Given that such reads are often retained in public repositories, the risk of re-identification persists despite microbiome-focused study designs. This work serves as both a technical demonstration and an ethical imperative. Host-DNA masking should become standard before data sharing; ethics boards and data custodians must recognize the potential for unintentional disclosure; and informed consent procedures must reflect the realities of high-throughput sequencing. While the Y-to-X depth ratio offers a scalable quality control and forensic tool, its application must be balanced with rigorous privacy safeguards to uphold research integrity and participant trust.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112585"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144772303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A methodology for constructing narrative Bayesian networks for the evaluation of forensic fibre evidence given activity level propositions","authors":"Victoria Lau,&nbsp;Xanthe Spindler,&nbsp;Claude Roux","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The evaluation of forensic fibre evidence given activity level propositions is complex, due to the circumstances and factors of consideration in each case. While Bayesian Networks (BNs) are increasingly recognised for their potential in supporting this evaluative process, their application within the fibre and microtrace specialties remains limited, often relying on complex representations. This paper presents a simplified methodology for constructing narrative BNs for the activity-level evaluation of forensic fibre findings. Through an illustrative case scenario, we develop three examples of BNs designed as an accessible starting point for practitioners to build case-specific networks. These examples emphasise the transparent incorporation of case information, facilitate the assessment of the evaluation’s sensitivity to variations in data, and highlight avenues for further research. Significantly, the qualitative, narrative offers a format that is easier for both experts and the Court to understand, enhances user-friendliness and accessibility, and aligns with successful approaches in other forensic disciplines as forensic biology. This alignment has the potential to readily facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and ultimately a more holistic approach.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112586"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144757941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"I just killed someone … where to from here? The environmental context in body disposal of non-organised crime homicide offenders: A geographic profiling perspective","authors":"Adam Marsden","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112587","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112587","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Geographic Profiling (GP) has been an important development in policing practice since 1995. GP methodology has been found to assist police forces in investigating serious crimes such as homicide and by refining search areas for where the victim of homicide has not yet been located. This study examined the environmental context of the body disposal process of non-organised crime homicide offenders. The methodological approach was a Rapid Evidence Assessment to examine existing research from 2001 to 2021, and thus gaining a contemporary context. The research found that offenders are typically familiar with the area in which they dispose of a victim, often being previous residential areas, linked to past or current relationships, or workplaces. Further, this research revealed the offender’s preference for a body disposal site is often: close to a road, access way or path; outdoors; and within areas that contain bush or scrub. Implications of this research include the application of the findings in the work of geographic profilers to unsolved homicides and no-body homicide cases to determine where investigative or intelligence opportunities exist.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112587"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144749381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing fingermark visualisation on pangolin scales and rhino horns using cyanoacrylate fuming and vacuum metal deposition techniques","authors":"Lauren Woodcock ,&nbsp;Nicole Coogan ,&nbsp;Julia Ringe ,&nbsp;Nunzianda Frascione","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112584","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112584","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fingermark analysis is a relatively underexplored area in wildlife forensics, partly due to the complex surfaces of evidence, which often have varying porosities and textures. There is a limited amount of literature exploring cyanoacrylate fuming (CAF) and vacuum metal deposition (VMD) for latent fingermark enhancement in wildlife crime. This research addresses the scarcity of current findings by applying VMD and cyanoacrylate fuming on pangolin scales and rhinoceros horns. Using different metal depositions, an optimal VMD method has been identified to enhance latent fingermarks on a rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales successfully. Findings demonstrate that manual deposition is significantly more efficient than automatic deposition for enhancing fingermarks. In addition, Gold/Zinc (Au/Zn) VMD coupled with sequential CAF was the most effective technique, within these investigations for fingermark enhancement on pangolin scales. Au/Zn VMD was found to be most effective on the interior areas of the rhino horn, though fingermarks grade ≥ 3 were also obtained from the exterior region of the rhino horn. CAF alone was found to be effective at visualising fingermarks on pangolin scales and rhino horn. A secondary dye staining step with BY40 or R6G was successful on the non-porous pangolin scales, but dye staining significantly reduced the quality of marks on the porous rhino horn. This study offers valuable insight into using VMD and CAF coupled with sequential techniques for fingermark analysis on wildlife samples. This novel area of research can assist in the identification of perpetrators and support criminal prosecutions to protect and preserve endangered wildlife.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"376 ","pages":"Article 112584"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144763600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}