The microbial data were the first used to understand how the postmortem microbiome changes in unusual circumstances of death and concealment, in this case when bodies were frozen. One note-worthy case involves a mother who stored her two dead children in a freezer. MSU's kits and the collection protocol are now being regularly used in death investigations. In death, that microbial population is different after two days, and it completely turns over again a few days later. It is comparable to a town with a changing population: a company starts up, and an entire new population moves in. The organisms found on a body can help estimate the time of death.Īccording to Eric Benbow, MSU forensic entomologist and microbial ecologist and study co-author, the microbial stopwatch, as it has recently been called, is a telling timepiece that can assist us in determining when someone died. Just as the TV show says, the first 48 hours of an investigation are critical. The partnership initially began to better understand the bugs and microbes present and what they can tell investigators about the recently deceased. A case in point is the interdisciplinary research happening between MSU and the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office. Based on the growing number of partnerships between MSU forensic entomologists and medical examiners, the police and medical communities are beginning to see the value this research can provide. Regardless of many factors-sex, ethnicity, or even type of death-the microbiome is consistent and distinct, depending on the number of days after death. The study, published in the current issue of Nature Scientific Reports, shows that postmortem microbiome-population of micro organisms that move in after death- can provide crucial insights into the public health. New research from Michigan State University (MSU) shows that what is true for the living is also true for the dead. It has been said that people can be judged by the company they keep.
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