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]

Utah’s Commercial Genetic Genealogy Database Bill Fails
March 09, 2022
A bill addressing law enforcements use of genetic genealogy DNA databases like GEDmatch and Ancestry failed to pass the Utah House of Representatives late last week amid concerns it was not specific enough to prevent police “fishing expeditions.” read more
Cranial Lesions Reveal 9 Murders 430,000 Years Ago
March 07, 2022
The Spanish archeologist who helped piece together possibly the earliest case of murder in human history has published another study that demonstrates evidence of nine additional murders in the same location. read more
How to Fix the Cracks in Forensic Science’s Foundation
March 02, 2022
To avoid any further headlines that read “forensic lab under investigation,” forensic scientist and consultant Brian Gestring suggests taking cues from the transportation industry, specifically cars and aviation. read more
Forensic Spray Sends Domestic Abuser to Jail
February 28, 2022
In a first-of-its-kind arrest, a man in the UK has been convicted and jailed for domestic violence and failure to adhere to a non-molestation order after the victim sprayed him with SmartTag, a unique forensic liquid UK police have been piloting. read more
To the Readers of Evidence Technology Magazine
February 28, 2022
Earlier this month, Forensic’s parent company, CompareNetworks, Inc., announced subscribers of Evidence Technology Magazine will merge with the readership of Forensic through its email newsletters. read more
State Police Hope Cold Case Playing Cards Will Generate New Leads
February 23, 2022
When you flip over the 8 of clubs in this card deck, you don’t just see eight plant leaves. Rather, it’s a photo of a smiling Andy Puglisi, a 10-year-old boy with dark hair and dark eyes who has not been seen since Aug. 21, 1976. read more
Adding Scat to the Missing Persons Identification Forensic Toolbox
February 16, 2022
Paul Dostie, retired Mammoth Lakes Police Department sergeant, is positive he knows not only what happened to Karlie, but that the scat of coyotes dominant in the area prove his theory correct. read more
Expanded Tests Identify COD in 5,000-Year-Old Fisherman
February 14, 2022
Scientists at the University of Southampton have expanded the forensic toolkit to correctly identify drowning as the cause of death of a Neolithic fisherman buried in a mass grave in Chile about 5,000 years ago. read more
Forensic Pathologists Shortage is Worsening Across the U.S.
February 09, 2022
The latest effort to address a shortage of forensic pathologists in Washington has stalled, even though the national shortage is getting worse, forcing some states to appeal to the federal government for help. read more
664 B.C. Egyptian Mummy Finally Gets a Face
February 07, 2022
Scientists at the FAPAB Research Center in Italy have unveiled the forensic facial reconstruction of a young woman who lived in Thebes, Egypt in the early 26th dynasty. read more
Denver Police ID 1978 Serial Killer Through Genetic Genealogy, Familial Search
February 02, 2022
The identification of a suspect in four murders in Denver over 40 years ago has further cemented the importance of cold case units within police departments, as well as investigative genetic genealogy. read more
Study: Social Media Can Predict NPS Use, Trends
January 31, 2022
A new study is the first to evaluate the utility of social media as an early predictor of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) trends on a nationwide scale. read more
Project Wants to Make Honey Bees New Partners in Crime Fighting
January 26, 2022
In a new project, researchers from a number of different fields are working in unison on the SciTech campus to see if the honey produced by bees after feeding on flowers can help investigators better locate missing persons. read more
Expert Testimony Bill Passes Public Safety Committee Before Being Put on Suspense File
January 24, 2022
Senate Bill 467 seeks to expand this definition of false evidence by making the following inadmissible in a pre- and post-conviction. read more
23andMe Researchers ID Genetic Risk Factor for COVID-19 Loss of Smell
January 19, 2022
Researchers at 23andMe have utilized the expansive database of over 12 million individuals to identify a genetic risk factor associated with the loss of smell after a COVID-19 infection. read more
Ancient DNA Reveals the World’s Oldest Family Tree
January 12, 2022
Analyzing ancient DNA from a Neolithic tomb in Britain, an international team of geneticists and archeologists have mapped out the family tree of a group of 27 close biological relatives who lived around 3700 BC. read more
Non-profit Forensic Lab to Head Tulsa Race Massacre DNA Identification
January 10, 2022
In what feels like the epitome of a “perfect match,” the City of Tulsa has awarded a grant to Intermountain Forensics to help identify bodies thought to be associated with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. read more
Could Genetic Genealogy Provide a Lead in JonBenet Ramsey Case?
January 05, 2022
A recent statement from the City of Boulder and the Boulder Police Department has people wondering if IGG can solve an even more well-known case that captivated the nation 25 years ago and still today—the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey. read more
Forensic’s Top 10 News Articles of 2021
December 22, 2021
Before Forensic takes a holiday break before the new year, let’s take a look back at the top 10 most popular articles of 2021. read more
Researchers Close in on Pathognomonic Marker of SIDS
December 20, 2021
SIDS is unlike most other causes of death medical examiners identify. For one, there is still not a common set of diagnostic features that indicate SIDS. Even at autopsy, there are no pathognomonic markers of the fatal event. read more