DNA evidence

Lawyers for Massimo Bossetti, convicted of the 2010 murder of 13-year-old Yara Gambirasio in Brembate di Sopra, Italy, have requested new forensic analysis on two pieces of evidence. The case, one of Italy's most closely followed criminal trials, ended with Bossetti's conviction in 2016 following a landmark DNA investigation, and remains a subject of intense public interest.

Popular accounts of the discovery of DNA's structure claim Rosalind Franklin failed to grasp the significance of her famous Photo 51, crediting James Watson alone with the insight. A new paper by science historian Alistair Sponsel and a crystallographer revisits that narrative, arguing Franklin's own role in interpreting the evidence has been understated and the traditional story distorts how the breakthrough actually happened.

A new book by Smithsonian scholar Richard Kurin, "History by a Hair: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings & Solving a 200-Year-Old Mystery," recounts how a strand of hair found in Thomas Jefferson's Bible was used to settle long-running questions about his relationship with Sally Hemings. Early readers are rating it favourably, with one reviewer giving it four out of five stars ahead of its 2026 publication.

A man has been convicted of the violent murder of an Arizona woman after investigators used familial DNA searching, a technique that matches crime scene evidence to relatives of people in DNA databases. The case highlights how forensic genealogy is increasingly being used to close cold cases and identify suspects who avoided direct database matches.

Investigators have made an arrest in a decades-old murder case after matching DNA taken from a discarded water bottle to evidence from the killing, the New York Times reports. The technique, which often involves comparing crime scene DNA with samples collected from everyday items, has led to breakthroughs in long-cold cases and is drawing attention to how genetic genealogy is reshaping criminal investigations.

New reporting suggests that DNA evidence from a strand of hair, believed to belong to Thomas Jefferson, may finally settle the long-debated question of whether the founding father fathered children with Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman at Monticello. The find reignites discussion of Jefferson's family legacy and the history of slavery in America, a topic historians have contested for decades.

A new narrative by Richard Kurin, scholar and museum official, recounts a fifteen-year scientific and historical investigation into Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, drawing on DNA and hair evidence to address the two-century-old question of their relationship and descendants. Early readers describe it as part detective story, part historical epic, and it is drawing attention among history and science audiences.

Rosalind Franklin's famous photograph of DNA has long been framed as evidence that she failed to grasp the double helix structure, letting Watson and Crick claim the discovery. A new article in Science pushes back on that narrative, arguing that Franklin did recognise the helical structure in her own image. The piece is renewing discussion about how Franklin's contributions were minimised and why this misreading of history has persisted.

A discussion piece in Nature asks whether genome-wide epigenetic reprogramming—the extensive erasure and re-establishment of chemical marks on DNA during early development—is an innovation specific to eutherian (placental) mammals. Researchers are weighing comparative evidence across species to determine when this wholesale reprogramming emerged in evolution and whether other animals use narrower or different mechanisms to reset their genomes.

The double murder trial over the deaths of the Konen couple is drawing attention to forensic evidence, with DNA and gunshot residue analysis among the key elements presented in court. Local coverage highlights five main takeaways from the proceedings, as prosecutors and defense attorneys spar over what the scientific findings prove about the killings.

A new discussion of epigenetics is reviving the classic nature-versus-nurture argument about whether genes or environment shape who we are. The piece argues that the epigenome, the system of chemical marks that switches genes on and off, shows the two forces are intertwined rather than opposed. Environmental factors such as stress, diet and pollution can leave heritable marks on DNA, complicating older genetic determinism. The debate continues to fascinate scientists and the public alike.

Police in Waterbury, Connecticut have made an arrest in a murder case that had gone unsolved for 14 years, after DNA evidence matched a suspect. The cold case break is drawing attention locally as an example of how genetic evidence can close long-open investigations. Details about the victim, the suspect and the original killing have not been widely reported yet.

Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh are demanding DNA evidence, phone records and crime scene documents as he prepares for a retrial in the double murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The records request signals an aggressive defense strategy as the disgraced South Carolina attorney fights his convictions, and the case continues to draw wide national attention.