New forensic AI tool to determine biological sex from skull

Amazing stuff!

More complications for transgender individuals! E.g. a double mastectomy is not enough! 😊 Caution: irony.

"Researchers at the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool for estimating the biological sex of individuals – from their skulls.

The tool has the potential to speed up investigations in criminal analysis or after severe natural disasters. ..."

From the abstract:

"Cranial sex estimation often relies on visual assessments made by a forensic anthropologist following published standards. However, these methods are prone to human bias and may be less accurate when applied to populations other than those for which they were originally developed with.

This study explores an automatic deep learning (DL) framework to enhance sex estimation accuracy and reduce bias.

Utilising 200 cranial CT scans of Indonesian individuals, various DL network configurations were evaluated against a human observer. The most accurate DL network, which learned to estimate sex and cranial traits as an auxiliary task, achieved a classification accuracy of 97%, outperforming the human observer at 82%.

Grad-CAM visualisations indicated that the DL model appears to focus on certain cranial traits, while also considering overall size and shape. This study demonstrates the potential of using DL to assist forensic anthropologists in providing more accurate and less biased estimations of skeletal sex."

New forensic AI tool to determine biological sex from skull

CSIRO develops AI tool for rapid identification in forensic investigations (original news release) "It is approximately five times faster than a human at estimating biological sex and could support investigators during natural disasters and criminal analysis."

Deep learning versus human assessors: forensic sex estimation from three-dimensional computed tomography scans (open access)

Fig. 1 Grad-CAM heatmaps associated with each Walker score branch with input, assigned by networks N1 and N2. Positions of each cranial trait is indicated with the red arrow. The heatmaps are overlaid on the skull mask and its intensity of regional activation is indicated by the colour gradient. 

A volume-rendered CT scan featuring the five cranial traits used in the study.

The ‘sexome’: A new forensic tool to identify sexual perpetrators

Good news! Heterosexual couples were recruited for this research!

"The bacterial composition of our genital microbiome is as unique as we are, and it's transferred during sex, according to new research. Just like a fingerprint, the so-called "sexome" may help identify sexual offenders, even in cases where a condom is used. ...

Whether the men were circumcised, whether pubic hair was shaved or intact, whether couples engaged in oral sex or used a lubricant, and whether a condom was used – none of these factors had a statistically significant impact on the microbial diversity of the sexome. Interestingly, in terms of condom use, the researchers found that the majority of microbial transfer occurred from the female to the male. ..."

"... This new research presents that the sexome not only confirms intercourse taking place but also leaves behind ‘trace’ or ‘transfer’ samples unique to a person.  ...

Participants in ongoing sexual relationships (heterosexual) were recruited for the study and initial samples taken during periods of abstinence provided researchers with a snapshot of the DNA associated with healthy bacterial communities surrounding their genitals.  

The couples then had sex and took a second series of samples in the hours following intercourse.  

When comparing the before and after samples, researchers could see bacterial DNA signatures transferred between partners.  ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Transfer of unique and non-unique bacterial taxa during intercourse was observed

• Lactobacillus spp. contributed to the most female to male sexome transfer

• Despite the use of a condom during intercourse, transfer of the sexome was still observed

• Condom/lube use, oral intercourse, circumcision/pubic hair: no impact on microbial diversity

Summary

In forensic science, detecting transfers of physical and biological material is critical for establishing evidence of criminal involvement.

Unique bacterial signatures from the reproductive system transfer during unprotected penetrative intercourse offer a novel tool for criminal investigation. Here, we demonstrate this transfer using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing and discuss the impact of barrier contraceptives. These microbial signatures can potentially aid in sexual assault casework for perpetrator identification when human male DNA is absent."

The ‘sexome’: A new forensic tool to identify perpetrators

Unique DNA of 'sexome' could help solve sex crimes (original news release)

Bacterial transfer during sexual intercourse as a tool for forensic detection (open access)

Graphical abstract

The History of the ‘Rape Kit’

Recommendable!

Unfortunately, it is often still very difficult to prove a sexual assault leading to indictment and sentencing.

Unfortunately, some women make false claims of sexual assault or inappropriate behavior to taint the reputation of a man or for political reasons. E.g. Donald Trump. Possibly, Pete Hegseth to name two recent prominent cases.

"In the 1970s, the prevalence of sexual abuse was rarely discussed, victims were nearly always considered to be at fault, and few rapists were arrested—with a lack of evidence often cited as the excuse.

Martha Goddard, a philanthropic organization executive who worked with young rape victims, was determined to change that. Her work led to the sexual assault evidence collection kit, known as a “rape kit,” that is now an important forensic tool in many sexual assault cases. 

In her book detailing the kits’ history, Pagan Kennedy also addresses the limitations of the kits—which are challenging for traumatized survivors, and have a backlog of 100,000 for processing the kits—and ultimately, how “broken the system for reporting sexual assault remains.”"

Global Health NOW: 012325

New nano-material lights up old fingerprints in CSI breakthrough

Good news!

Bones from across Europe suggest Stone Age ritual killings by slow strangulation

Amazing but horrible stuff! What a nasty way of killing a human! One may appreciate the form of humor of forensic scientists.

"A method of killing used by the modern-day Italian Mafia may have been widespread across Stone Age Europe. In what is called incaprettamento, victims are placed on their stomachs with a rope around their ankles and neck, and the weight of their legs slowly strangles them. “It’s really a horror,” says forensic anthropologist Eric Crubézy.

In a paper published yesterday in Science Advances, Crubézy and his colleagues argue that the unusual postures of two women at a 5600-year-old site in France called Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux indicate they died in this way—and that the killings were part of a larger pattern of ritual violence among Europe’s early farmers. From studying excavation reports from Poland to the Iberian Peninsula, the team found 20 more examples of skeletons in incaprettamento -style positions. All were buried during the Neolithic, between 5500 B.C.E. and 3500 B.C.E., and many of the sites also held evidence of fertility rituals.

Crubézy and his co-authors think the graves record human sacrifices and testify to a belief or ritual shared across cultures in the Neolithic. Some colleagues are skeptical of a common belief system—or even that the burials necessarily indicate human sacrifice. Whatever the nature of the ritual, it seems to have gone out of style by 3500 B.C.E., when Neolithic farmers turned their energies to building massive stone monuments like Stonehenge."

From the abstract:

"In the Rhône Valley’s Middle Neolithic gathering site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (France), the positioning of two females within a structure aligned with the solstices is atypical. Their placement (back and prone) under the overhang of a silo in front of a third in a central position suggests a ritualized form of homicidal ligature strangulation. The first occurrence dates back to the Mesolithic, and it is from the Early Neolithic of Central Europe that the practice expands, becoming a sacrificial rite associated with an agricultural context in the Middle Neolithic. Examining 20 cases from 14 sites spanning nearly two millennia from Eastern Europe to Catalonia reveals the evolution of this ritual murder practice."

ScienceAdvisor

A ritual murder shaped the Early and Middle Neolithic across Central and Southern Europe (open access)

Fig. 5. Decision tree [???].

When dealing with an individual in a prone position with bent knees, a decision tree that takes into account the positioning of the feet and upper limbs, as well as the presence or absence of compression on the head or thorax, allows us to contemplate [???] a scenario resembling homicidal ligature strangulation.  ...

Fig. 4. Location and description for the studied sites.

Is Facial Recognition a Useful Public Safety Tool or Something Sinister? Benefits outweigh concerns!

This article below is kind of a book review!

Facial recognition is another topic prone to alarmism and hysteria!

Facial recognition in the hands of dictatorial regimes like Russia, China, and Iran are dangerous! However, these regimes will use this technology anyway. "The Chinese government has deployed over 700 million surveillance cameras; in many cases, artificial intelligence analyzes their output in real time. Chinese authorities have used it to police behavior like jaywalking and to monitor racial and religious minorities and political dissidents. Hill reports there is a "red list" of VIPs who are invisible to facial recognition systems. "In China, being unseen is a privilege," ... Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are using facial recognition tech to monitor women protesting for civil rights by refusing to wear hijabs in public. ..."

As far as forensics is concerned face recognition is an addition to dactyloscopy (finger print identification).

Face recognition may also help e.g. find abducted children, exonerate innocent people and much more. 

Claims of racial bias are as spurious as usual:

"Some privacy activists argue that facial recognition technologies are racially biased and do not work as well on some groups. But as developers continued to train their algorithms, they mostly fixed that problem; the software's disparities with respect to race, gender, and age are now so negligible as to be statistically insignificant."

Images on the Internet are in the public domain:

"... As Hill documents, the billions of photos in Clearview AI's ever-growing database were scraped without permission [???] from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media sites. The company argues that what it is doing is no different than the way Google catalogs links and data for its search engine, only that theirs is for photographs. The legal memo leaked to Hill was part of the company's defense against numerous lawsuits filed by social media companies and privacy advocates who objected to the data scraping. ..."

"This book traces the longer history of attempts to deploy accurate and pervasive facial recognition technology, but it chiefly focuses on the quixotic rise of Clearview AI. Hill first learned of this company's existence in November 2019, when someone leaked a legal memo to her in which the mysterious company claimed it could identify nearly anyone on the planet based only on a snapshot of their face. ...

"We have developed a revolutionary, web-based intelligence platform for law enforcement to use as a tool to help generate high-quality investigative leads," explains the company's website. "Our platform, powered by facial recognition technology, includes the largest known database of 40+ billion facial images sourced from public-only web sources, including news media, mugshot websites, public social media, and other open sources." ..."

Is Facial Recognition a Useful Public Safety Tool or Something Sinister? Your Face Belongs to Us documents how facial recognition might threaten our freedom.

Bloomberg School of Public Health: Firearm Forensics on Trial. Really!

The leftist propaganda Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is spreading junk again in their quest to prevent "gun violence"! Here is another hit piece!

So called "gun violence" is by itself an ideological oxymoron! Guns like tools are not violent!!! It is the human who misuses a gun who is violent!!!

We have been using and researching firearm forensics since about 1835. It has been applied in hundreds of thousands or even millions of criminal cases around the world! One can assume that forensics is very well established and valid. It is mostly questioned by demagogues trying to sow doubt!

To question forensics evidence is certainly a favorite or fallback among defense lawyers. However, most of the times it is probably about human error, negligence, chain of custody issues etc. and not about the science behind forensics.

"The conclusion: Rosenblum [professor in biostatistics] doesn’t see how firearm forensics could be a reliable source of evidence in a criminal trial"

Firearm Forensics on Trial | Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine Defense attorneys appealing a murder conviction enlisted the expertise of statisticians to determine whether the field of firearm forensics is grounded in solid science. The answer? Not even close.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

Solving crime - Advancements in forensic science

Recommendable!

The bullet that killed Arab-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Update of 7/4/2022: "“Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said ..."

See Abu Akleh bullet test inconclusive but IDF likely responsible, US claims Abu Akleh bullet test inconclusive but IDF likely responsible, US claims

I don't think the chain of custody for the evidence in this case has been secured!