News Chemistry

A new AI technique may aid violent crime forensics

Trained on insects’ chemical fingerprints, the method may reveal details about a death

Insect larvae like these can colonize dead bodies and offer clues about time of death. A new machine learning technique can identify species based on chemical fingerprints of insects’ puparial casings.

Paige B. Jarreau/ LSU

By Meghan Rosen

Crime scene clues from blowflies may help reveal a victim’s time of death — and other murderous details — perhaps even years later.