The rise of forensic microbiology: unveiling the potential of microbiome in criminal investigations

Using the special characteristics of microbial communities, the rapidly expanding science of forensic microbiology is able to provide important new information for criminal investigations. Examining its uses in postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, cause of death identification, and trace evidence analysis, this review explores the rapidly developing subject of forensic microbiology. Recent developments in sequencing technologies have transformed the way microbial communities are characterized, allowing forensic experts to interpret the microbial death clock and uncover latent traces at crime scenes. The potential for improving data analysis, creating reliable prediction models, and assisting in well-informed decision-making is enormous when artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are combined with forensic microbiology. However, in order to protect privacy and avoid discrimination, it is important to carefully navigate the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding human microbiome research. A more thorough and data-driven approach to criminal investigations is made possible by forensic microbiology's ability to harness the power of the microbiome.