The biological identification of an individual has always been a challenging task throughout the process of investigating unknown skeletal remains. Accuracy in estimating age can be achieved using methodologies that include developmental markers of specific elements that is mostly applicable in individuals under 35 years of age. Additionally, protocols of aspartic acid racemization, carbon dating, and DNA methylation have been successfully used to estimate age with a standard deviation of ±5 years [1Rajkumari S., Nirmal M., Sunil P.M., Smith A.A. Estimation of age using aspartic acid racemisation in human dentin in Indian population Forensic Sci Int 2013 ;  228 (1–3) : 38-41 [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références, 2Alkass K., Saitoh H., Buchholz B.A., Bernard S., Holmlund G., Senn D.R., et al. Analysis of radiocarbon, stable isotopes and DNA in teeth to facilitate identification of unknown decedents PLoSONE 2013 ;  8 (7) : pe69597-pe169597

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références, 3Zubakov D., Liu F., Kokmeijer I., Choi Y., van Meurs J.B.J., van IJcken W.F.J., et al. Human age estimation from blood using mRNA, DNA methylation, DNA rearrangement, and telomere length Forensic Sci Int Genet 2016 ;  24 : 33-43 [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références]. A method using quantification of biomechanical properties in conjunction with bone microstructure for the mid-femur cortical bone has recently provided better results [4Zioupos P., Williams A., Christodoulou G., Giles R. Determining ‘age at death’ for forensic purposes using human bone by a laboratory-based biomechanical analytical method J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2014 ;  33 (1) : 109-123 [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références]. Throughout life, physical characteristics of ribs are less affected by mechanical stress compared to the femur, and thus, should be less affected by lifestyle. Furthermore, ribs are more easily accessible through the thoracic cage at autopsy. Well-known changes in the biomechanical and chemical properties of rib bone matrix of autopsy material (n=24) from two samples were used in the present study. A set of 28 parameters involving biomechanical (nanoindentation), physical (DSC, helium pycnometer) and histomorphometric (porosity-image, in-vivo cracks) analysis on the 4th rib were included. An equation using 7 parameters revealed an R²=0.94 (2.77±1.43 SD) while the equation using 2 parameters (cortical porosity/Image J & density pycnometer) produced an R²=0.79 (4.54±0.34 SD) yrs [5Bonicelli A., Xhemali B., Kranioti E.F., Zioupos P. Rib biomechanical properties exhibit diagnostic potential for accurate ageing in forensic investigations PLoSONE 2017 ;  12 (5) : 1-20

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références]. As such, the method seems to perform better than all existing age-at-death methods based on ribs, providing a novel powerful tool for forensic investigation of human remains. This newly developed methodology was applied to a body retrieved on a shore in Crete in order to understand the effect of taphonomy on accuracy and precision. Results are promising and show no alteration of properties when the body is kept in salty water for long time intervals.