Finding new ways to catch a thief-via intruders' airborne eDNA
Forensic researchers are studying the viability of using airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) to identify intruders in residential burglaries. The study found that while eDNA can be collected, success rates vary significantly based on environmental factors and the nature of the crime.
Why it matters
This research could revolutionize forensic science by providing a new method to gather evidence in cases where traditional biological traces are absent.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add to Preferred Sources Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly being investigated by forensic scientists as a tool to help solve criminal cases that lack biological traces—and attention is also turning to collecting trace airborne eDNA left behind by intruders in residential burglaries.
An international study, led by Norwegian experts at Oslo University Hospital with collaborators at Flinders University, has evaluated the possibility of finding viable evidence from 391 eDNA samples collected from air, dust and surfaces in simulated 15-minute residential burglaries in 22 households in Oslo and Australia.
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