In our lab, we're developing methods that look at the ratio of the different compounds that hemoglobin breaks down into. Then using computer modeling we can estimate the time since the blood was deposited to help investigators determine if a blood stain is relevant to a crime. If the blood is a year old, it might not be important to a crime committed yesterday.
Marisia Fikiet and Igor Lednev are chemistry researchers at University at Albany, State University of New York. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Learn more about this mysterious fluid in "Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood" by Rose George. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.