Handbook of Forensic Genetics: Biodiversity and Heredity in Civil and Criminal Investigation

The use of genetics for the resolution of legal conflicts has recently been gaining a higher profile, largely as a result of scientific and technological advancements and the substantial broadening of applications. The theoretical framework underlying forensic genetics is the same irrespective of the materials and technology involved, however a great divide still exists in the manner and processes related to human and non-human analyses.

This advanced handbook intends to overcome the historical barriers between the scientific fields of legal medicine, biodiversity and conservation, and food analysis by presenting a unifying, global perspective on the implications of genetic analyses on forensic affairs. This global perspective is presented in three parts: modes of inheritance and reproduction and taxonomic implications; current technological approaches and future perspectives; and a comprehensive systematization of the types of applications and organisms. Finally, a critical revision of the current investigative/expert systems and future perspectives is undertaken.

This book provides a collection of international research, thereby constituting a reference platform for the forensic community and an advanced textbook for graduate students. It encompasses the theoretical bases of the field, and presents in the context of both perspectives of forensic action — probative and investigative — a comprehensive coverage of the current applications and technological state of the art.

Readership: Forensic scientists and advanced graduate students in the field.

Professor Antonio Amorim was born in 1952, Porto, Portugal. He attained his Biology degree from the University of Porto in 1974, followed by his Anthropology PhD in 1983. He has been a full Professor since 1993. His current research activities include formal and population genetics, pure and applied, to forensics (human and non-human, paternity and kinship expertise) and to diagnosis of genetic diseases.

Professor Antonio is currently the coordinator of GABBA (Graduate Program in Areas of Basic and Applied Biology) and the MSc Program in Forensic Genetics at the University of Porto. He is the member of the Editorial Board of: The Scientific World Journal, Frontiers in Genetics and Peer J. He is also the national contact point of EUROFORGEN-NoE (European Forensic Genetics Network of Excellence).

He was previously the coordinator of the PhD Program in Biology (FCUP). Former member of the Editorial Board of Forensic Science International. Former president for both the Portuguese Society of Human Genetics and GHEP-ISFG (Spanish and Portuguese Working Group of the International Society of Forensic Genetics).