DNA testing

Police in Rhode Island have made an arrest in a decades-old murder case after DNA recovered from a water bottle linked a suspect to the killing. The case highlights how advances in forensic DNA testing and genetic genealogy are being used to close long-unsolved crimes, and observers are noting the unusual role of an everyday object in cracking the investigation.

Police have made an arrest in a decades-old murder case after matching DNA taken from a water bottle to evidence from the killing. Investigators reportedly collected genetic material recently and compared it to samples preserved from the original crime scene, finally producing a usable match after years without a suspect. The case is drawing attention as an example of how modern DNA techniques are being applied to long-unsolved crimes, renewing debate about genetic evidence and cold-case investigations.

Two sisters took a commercial biological age test, which estimates how quickly a person is aging based on DNA markers rather than chronological age. The New York Times reports on their results and what the experience reveals about the science and limits of these increasingly popular tests. The story explores how factors like lifestyle and family history shape aging differently even between siblings.