Forensic Techniques That Reveal Secrets, From the Grave

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Many USA TV programs feature crime investigations that include forensic evidence, but not so many years ago, this evidence was not available, when people died, and so, sometimes their cause of death was not accurate. As I looked into this subject a couple years ago, I wrote some interesting things down in one of my notebooks. Most of you have heard me speak of my numerous notebooks which I have kept for many years. I have always had the habit of writing down in a notebook, interesting facts and trivia of all sorts. I still do the same thing now. I came across this notebook today and thought I would share a couple things with you. In 2007, Italian researchers revealed the results of a homicide investigation from forensic evidence collected in a chapel. The victims, who had been dead for over 400 years, were – Francesco I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his second wife, Bianca Cappello. Originally, they were said to have died from malaria, but the evidence uncovered revealed that they had been poisoned with arsenic. Now, scientists in many different countries are using the latest forensic techniques to investigate the causes of death and the lineage of historic figures. This new field of scientific inquiry is called “Biohistory” which is the combination of biological testing and history. But, it has brought up serious ethical questions, mainly, is it ethical to delve into someone’s death, and what use should be made of the results? What do you think? I have additional information in this notebook about Beethoven, Thomas Jefferson and Einstein. I will be posting more information later about them.