A generous grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs will help researchers at UCSD investigate the potential of using microbial cells as DNA evidence at crime scenes.
The DOJ awarded more than $637,942 in grants for a two-year, five-phase research project that would help scientists answer crucial questions about the feasibility of microbe evidence.
Humans have billions of microbial cells made up of fungi and bacteria that leave a 'microbial fingerprint' behind on objects they touch. In fact, humans have far more microbial cells than human cells.
Some of the questions researchers hope to discover during the project are how long a person’s microbial signature remains on an object, whether the type of surface matters, how much contact with the surface is required to leave a print, what might obscure the print, what happens when people’s microbial cells are mixed and how death might alter a person’s microbes.
UCSD scientists will collaborate on the project with experts from the University of Colorado, Argonne National Laboratory, Chaminade University of Honolulu, and the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner.
