Forensic anthropologists often rely on the state of decomposition to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) in a human remains case. The state of decomposition can provide much information about the PMI, especially when decomposition is treated as a semi-continuous variable and used in conjunction with accumulated-degree-days (ADD). This preliminary study demonstrates a supplemental method of determining the PMI based on scoring decomposition using a point-based system and taking into account temperatures in which the remains were exposed. This project was designed to examine the ways that forensic anthropologists could improve their PMI estimates based on decomposition by using a more quantitative approach. A total of 68 human remains cases with a known date of death were scored for decomposition and a regression equation was calculated to predict ADD from decomposition score. ADD accounts for approximately 80% of the variation in decomposition. This study indicates that decomposition is best modeled as dependent on accumulated temperature, not just time.

Many researchers are currently studying the distribution of genetic variations among diverse groups, with particular interest in explaining racial/ethnic health disparities. However, the use of racial/ethnic categories as variables in biological research is controversial. Just how racial/ethnic categories are conceptualized, operationalized, and interpreted is a key consideration in determining the legitimacy of their use, but has received little attention. We conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 30 human genetics scientists from the US and Canada who use racial/ethnic variables in their research. They discussed the types of classifications they use, the criteria upon which they are based, and their methods for classifying individual samples and subjects. We found definitions of racial/ethnic variables were often lacking or unclear, the specific categories they used were inconsistent and context specific, and classification practices were often implicit and unexamined. We conclude that such conceptual and practical problems are inherent to routinely used racial/ethnic categories themselves, and that they lack sufficient rigor to be used as key variables in biological research. It is our position that it is unacceptable to persist in the constructing of scientific arguments based on these highly ambiguous variables.

The Lamendin aging method involves the quantification of root translucency and the attachment position of the periodontal membrane. It was developed using recent medical-examiner specimens, and was tested on modern skeletal samples such as the Terry Collection (Lamendin et al. [1992] J. Forensic Sci. 37:1373-1379; Prince and Ubelaker [2002] J. Forensic Sci. 47:107-116). The method may be one of the most useful for estimating age after the mid-30s. The current study is an evaluation of the Lamendin criteria on two historic skeletal samples from Britain. Both the Christ's Church Spitalfields and St. Bride's Church collections represent documented skeletal samples that were interred in the 18th and 19th centuries. In total, 1,188 teeth from 220 adult individuals were examined from these two collections. The Lamendin method requires measuring total root length (cementoenamel junction to apex), gingival regression (cementoenamel junction to periodontal ligament attachment), and root translucency (root apex to maximum level of root translucency) on the labial surface of single-rooted teeth. Our results indicate that postmortem factors affect the applicability of the Lamendin technique to archaeological and historical samples. In particular, root translucency disappears with time, or is obscured by unknown postmortem taphonomic effects related to the length of interment or postmortem environment. Thirty-five percent of our sample showed no root translucency, indicating that caution is required when applying this method to archaeological or historical remains. The mean error of age estimates for Spitalfields and St. Bride's was higher than in the original study of Lamendin et al. ([1992] J. Forensic Sci. 37: 1373-1379), and higher than in the test by Prince and Ubelaker ([2002] J. Forensic Sci. 47:107-116) of the Lamendin method on the Terry Collection.

BACKGROUND-The search for genetic variants between racial/ethnic groups to explain differential disease susceptibility and drug response has provoked sharp criticisms, challenging the appropriateness of using race/ethnicity as a variable in genetics research, because such categories are social constructs and not biological classifications.

This analysis indicates that more rigorous examination of what race/ethnicity actually captures, more careful definitions of group labels and the procedures for assigning them, and attention to the limitations of how such variables can reliably be used in data analyses is needed to help address the problems and issues outlined in this review.