An Overview of Age Estimation in Forensic Science: Based on Techniques and Methods

Abhishek Kumar Gautam¹ , Anjali Verma² , Alka Vyas³

1. School of Studies in Forensic Science, Vikram University, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.
2. School of Studies in Forensic Science, Vikram University, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.
3. School of Studies in Forensic Science, Vikram University, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Section:Review Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.9 , Issue.10 , pp.1-11, Oct-2023

Online published on Oct 31, 2023

Copyright © Abhishek Kumar Gautam, Anjali Verma, Alka Vyas . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Age is considered one of the most important variables that determine a person`s identity. Chemical study of dental dentin, like aspartic acid racemization, has demonstrated reliable and more accurate findings than conventional morphological approaches that is utilized by the anthropologists to assess age. Understanding that historical and anthropomorphic ages do not measure the same amount of time since birth is vital. In accordance with the analytical techniques used, there may also be an inherent variation source among the estimated (biological: skeleton, psychological, and physical) and actual (legal) ages. Several approaches that could be utilized for the calculation of age, such those on the basis of Radiocarbon dating, DNA Fingerprinting, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Odontology, Forensic Radiology, DNA Methylation, etc. DNAm (DNA Methylation) is an informative biomarker to determine age in forensic science. An established DNA methylation marker for estimating age was the ELOVL2 gene. DNA fingerprinting based on high molecular weight DNA & rapid fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) is used in genetic identification. Small short strand repeat (STR) sequencing gene amplification by polymerase chain reaction has replaced RFLP analysis and which has turned in the highest standard for identification of a gene. This review is considering potential future paths while looking at the historical evolution of the age estimate technique. Though each method had a different level of accuracy, they are all valid. It was very high and consistent across studies for intra- and inter-observer repeatability.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Age estimation, Biological Profile, Biomarker, DNA fingerprinting, Forensic Radiology.

References :
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