* National Research Council issues report identifying needs for microbial forensics of sufficient quality to support legal proceedings and inform government decisions

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18737

Science Needs for Microbial Forensics:

Initial International Research Priorities (2014)

 

Authors

Committee on Science Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing an Initial International Roadmap; Board on Life Sciences (BLS); Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS); National Research Council

Description

Microbial forensics is a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, or inadvertent microorganism or toxin release for attribution purposes. This emerging discipline seeks to offer investigators the tools and techniques to support efforts to identify the source of a biological threat agent and attribute a biothreat act to a particular person or group. Microbial forensics is still in the early stages of development and faces substantial scientific challenges to continue to build capacity.