Forensic Identification

Recommended QUEST Resources

• QUEST Science Blog - discuss the Forensic Identification TV story

  Discuss the "Forensic Identification" TV segment

• San Francisco Bay Debris

  Admiral Chester Nimitz was nearly killed when his seaplane hit a floating telephone pole 65 years ago. Ever since, a group of Sausalito sailors have been SF Bay's trash collectors - removing everything from floating concrete to dead bodies.

• The Chemistry Behind Forensic Identification (web only)

  Hear more from Chelsey Juarez, a UC Santa Cruz doctoral candidate in forensic anthropology, about the chemistry behind her technique to help identify the remains of migrants who die crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

• Green Burials

  Tired of toxic embalming fluid, rain forest wood caskets and other ecologically unfriendly practices, a new generation of undertakers is attempting to green up the funeral industry with burials that go easy on the land.

• How to ID a Bullet

  What if you could imprint every bullet with the unique signature of the gun which fired it? That's the goal of California's bullet microstamping law, which takes effect in 2010. But does microstamping work?

• Wildlife CSI

  An age-old environmental crime has become an increasing problem. Poachers illegally hunt down everything from abalone to black-tailed deer, on private lands, parks and wilderness areas. But catching poachers can be tough because of California's vast size, so state fish and game wardens are trying something new.