Forensic Science: Corpses leave clues behind in the soil long after they're gone

It is not uncommon for a body to be moved after a murder, usually to hide or eliminate evidence. And while a desert may seem like the perfect place to commit such a crime, a new study shows that a cadaver can still leave critical clues behind in that harsh environment. The study is published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

Researchers have found that trace elements linger at an original dump site even after an extensive amount of time. These elements can provide insights into postmortem processes, helping forensic investigators uncover clandestine burials and relocate the remains of murder victims.

A lot of times a murderer will kill someone and put the body somewhere, stash it, panic and then move it. And how can you ever trace where they have done this?

The surprising result was that even with a hot  summer, researchers could still tell that there had been something that was dying and decomposing in that spot in a desert!

The study used two 200-pound pig models that were dressed up in jeans and a button-up shirt by students, since murder victims are commonly clothed. They were left to decompose in large cages (to keep scavenging animals away) in various environments and seasons in the Sonoran Desert.

After 25 days, the remains were moved to a secondary burial location. Then, over a period of nine months, the researchers tested the soil where the model was originally placed, where it was moved and in a location adjacent to the original burial as a control.

It's a multifaceted, year-round project to try to determine timing, insects involved, and the humidity and the temperature and many other of these factors.

What they found were distinct microbial fingerprints where death gave way to new life—bacteria and fungi that once lived inside or on the body and were released into the surrounding ground as decomposition occurred.

It's like the murder victim is leaving a signature of themselves in death … almost like leaving breadcrumbs right around the desert (indicating) that they had been there, and those breadcrumbs stayed there in the soil, invisible to the naked eye for a year.

The results definitely opened the door to a novel area of forensic science that has many avenues to explore and to still verify.

Katelyn L. Bolhofner et al, The forensic footprint: Elemental and microbial evidence in relocated remains, Journal of Forensic Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.70092

Selfish sperm hijack Overdrive gene to kill healthy rivals

A new study has discovered the mechanism behind a decades-old evolutionary mystery—how "selfish chromosomes" cheat the rules of genetic inheritance. The researchers found that rogue chromosomes hijack the Overdrive (Ovd) gene to destroy rival sperm.
Selfish chromosomes exploit the Overdrive (Ovd) gene, which normally eliminates abnormal sperm, to destroy healthy rival sperm and increase their own transmission. This mechanism underlies segregation distortion, where inheritance deviates from Mendelian ratios. The phenomenon was observed in two Drosophila species, suggesting independent evolution of similar strategies. Ovd is not essential for fertility but acts as a quality control checkpoint.
The study is the first to identify that the Ovd gene acts as a quality control checkpoint during sperm development. Normally, Ovd detects and eliminates abnormal sperm cells. But selfish chromosomes exploit the system to kill competitors, boosting their chances of passing into the next generation.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal the biology behind segregation distortion, a phenomenon in which genes sway inheritance in their favor to beat the standard 50/50 odds predicted by Mendelian genetics. The team observed the scheme in two Drosophila species, each carrying completely different selfish chromosomes, which suggests that multiple genetic systems may evolve independently to exploit the same Ovd pathway.
Scientists first discovered segregation distortion in the 1920s while studying the fruit fly Drosophila obscura. Since then, the phenomenon has been found across the animal kingdom, from nematodes to mammals.
While humans lack an exact genetic equivalent, a similar quality-control process may exist that uses different machinery. The findings could offer new insights into male infertility and the evolution of reproductive barriers between species.

Jackson T. Ridges et al, Selfish chromosomes exploit a germline checkpoint to eliminate competing gametes, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-68254-7

Fungi found with ability to freeze water
Fungi from the Mortierellaceae family produce ice-nucleating proteins capable of catalyzing ice formation at high subzero temperatures. These proteins, likely acquired from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer, are cell-free and water-soluble, making them promising for safer cloud seeding, frozen food production, and cryopreservation. Their identification may also improve climate modeling.

Rosemary J. Eufemio et al, A previously unrecognized class of fungal ice-nucleating proteins with bacterial ancestry, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed9652