The Blog of Science

In December, 2003, the town of City Bell, in Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) was shocked by a severe fire in the house of the 69 years-old carpenter Carlos Wagner. After a difficult fight against the flames, the firemen found the carbonized body of the house’s owner. The autopsy revealed that its death had not been […]

You need to have a DNA test done, so you do some research online. What you will find is an overwhelming spectrum of DNA labs offering paternity tests, and of course, each of them claims that they are “the best lab”. What to do? Pick the first you come across? Pick the cheapest? You don’t […]

The British Police Forensic Science Service (FSS) is working in a computer-assisted system aimed to analyze DNA samples that current methods are not capable to handle. If successful, this technique could improve the rates of crime detection by more than 15%.
One of the drawbacks of the otherwise powerful and seemingly infallible DNA profiling resides in […]

The last decade has witnessed the most impressive advancements in genetic technology. The proposal of deciphering the complete sequence of the human genome some 16 years ago has unleashed an “arms race” between public and private ventures with no precedent in life sciences. In an implacable battle to publish the first draft of the complete […]