Michelle Taylor

Editor-in-Chief

Forensic

Michelle Taylor has worked on the Forensic brand since 2016. Well established in the industry, Michelle has attended dozens of scientific conferences and conducted interviews with key opinion leaders, including multiple Nobel Prize winners and award-winning forensic scientists. Michelle enjoys writing about investigative forensic genetic genealogy, novel psychoactive substances, next-generation sequencing, sexual assault kits and more. Michelle received her BA in journalism from Elon University in North Carolina. Michelle can be reached at [email protected] Michelle can be reached at [email protected]

Despite Privacy Concerns, Many are Submitting DNA to Tulsa Race Massacre Investigation
September 14, 2022
101 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre that saw Black people receive little lawful protection, forensic scientists are asking descendants to submit their DNA to a database that can be accessed by law enforcement officials. read more
Coroner Releases Facial Reconstruction Amid Plan to Profile All Local Unidentified Cases
September 12, 2022
National Missing and Unidentified Persons Day may not be for another 5 months, but that isn’t stopping the Richland County Coroner’s Office (S.C.) and Columbia Police Department from getting a head start. read more
Study: Forensic Science is Not Diverse, and the Data is Not Transparent
September 09, 2022
A new study concludes Black or Hispanic individuals are underrepresented in scientific fields closely related to forensic science, even though demographic data is hard to come by or even non-existent. read more
Genetic Genealogy ID’s Both Killer and Victim in Same Case
September 07, 2022
Genetic genealogy has been used to identify both the victim and the killer in the same case. read more
An Electronic Nose to Complement Cadaver Dogs
August 31, 2022
Researchers in Sweden are developing a portable gas sensor system that can be trained through machine learning to identify human remains—kind of like cadaver dogs. read more
Study Shows Doppelgängers Share DNA
August 29, 2022
In perhaps one of the more unique datasets in science, a team of researchers from Spain has shown that unrelated people who have look-alikes share not only strong facial similarity but genetic variants as well. read more
Police Tie Recently Arrested Suspect to a Second Cold Case
August 24, 2022
On Monday, just over a month later, Ivy found himself in an eerily similar position. While the survivor standing next to him was a different woman, the suspect was the same—Frederick Fitzgerald Gandy. read more
The Democratization of Forensic Genetic Genealogy
August 22, 2022
Verogen CEO Brett Williams discusses the implications of the recently announced Verogen-Gene by Gene partnership and what users can expect to see going forward. read more
Study: Better Interviews Could Yield More Convictions for Rape, Murder
August 17, 2022
A 7-year research project involving multiple UK police forces has shown significant failings in the role of Interview Manager, which researchers say is absolutely critical to the success of high-stake crime investigations—especially rape and murder. read more
Bristol Cold Case Unit Expands to Include Missing Persons
August 15, 2022
The already-effective Cold Case Unit out of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office is hoping to continue their success as they now expand their scope to include all missing persons in the last 50 years. read more
DNA, Genealogy Match 1985 New Mexico Remains to Kansas Teen
August 12, 2022
DNA extracted from the femur bone of human remains found in 1985 has given 16-year-old Dorothy Harrison back her name, and became the first—of what police hope is many—genetic genealogy-enabled identification for the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico. read more
Familial DNA Links Suspect to Two Cold Case Homicides
August 10, 2022
Evidence preservation, familial DNA, covert collection and incredibly persistent investigators has led to the arrest of Robert Edwards for the rape and murder of a young woman in Ohio 31 years ago. read more
ICYMI: Nanotech Method Can Extract More DNA from Rape Kit Swabs
July 27, 2022
Researchers have developed a new method that is up to six times more efficient at extracting male sperm fraction DNA profiles from sexual assault kits—particularly when analyzing low level sperm samples. read more
Study Links Legalization of Cannabis to Increased Car Accidents
July 25, 2022
States that legalized recreational marijuana saw a subsequent increase in traffic crashes and fatalities, according to a new study. read more
DNA from Coffee Cup Confirms Genetic Genealogy Suspect in 1975 Murder of Teen
July 20, 2022
His ancestral ties to a small town in southern Italy combined with months of research using historical records, geographic and immigration patterns, birth records, descendancy searching and more gave him away—that and a discarded coffee cup at the Philadelphia International Airport. read more
M-Vac Helps Solve 1979 Murder of 12-Year-Old Girl
July 13, 2022
M-Vac technology has helped cold case detectives in Montgomery County, Texas solve their oldest homicide case—the 1979 abduction, rape and murder of 12-year-old Lesia Michell Jackson. read more
Study: False Beliefs about Prevalence of Crime Influence Juries
July 11, 2022
Anew study has found a potential causal mechanism underlying gender and cultural biases—major differences in the perceptions of the prevalence of crimes. read more
Algorithm Uses Time, Location to Predict Crime with 90% Accuracy
July 08, 2022
Scientists from the University of Chicago have developed a new algorithm that predicts crime a week in advance with up to 90% accuracy. read more
NYC Launches Nation's First DNA Gun Crimes Unit
July 06, 2022
The newly formed OCME DNA Gun Crimes Unit will focus exclusively on the testing and analysis of evidence from gun crimes and accelerate testing turnaround times to 30 days or less. read more
Sensor Uses Breath for Biometric Identification
July 01, 2022
Researchers developed a new tool: an olfactory sensor for biometric authentication using human breath. read more