Articles Published by NIJ

NIJ-funded researchers developed a novel metric to assess probability that an unknown sample of a drug matches a library sample, with profound implications for standardization of mass spectrometry results.

Researchers have created a more accurate methodology for predicting how things burn

The reliability, interpretability, and cost-benefit of three-dimensional laser-scanned images for crime scene documentation is assessed.

Development of blowflies on a body is a standard forensic measure of time since death, but temperature variations can alter that development and mislead investigators.

New drone-mounted remote sensing technologies could complement conventional ground-based laser scanning in efficiently recreating crime scenes for forensic analysis.

Criminal investigators use physiological changes and insect development to determine how long a body has been dead, but scientists are using the trillions of microbes involved in human decomposition to find more accurate postmortem intervals.

Researchers created an open-access computer program for estimating the age of skeletal remains that outperforms current methods. The algorithm is based on 20 age-related skeletal changes identified by experienced forensic anthropologists.

Researchers improve molecular autopsy accuracy by identifying more genetic variants that could lead to sudden unexplained deaths. These genetic clues may better inform criminal investigations and help prevent deaths in surviving family members.

Researchers investigated how marijuana affects skills required for safe driving and found that biofluid levels of THC did not correlate with field sobriety test performance or marijuana intoxication, regardless of how the cannabis was ingested.