My surname — Holden — has gone through many incarnations since it originated in England nearly 700 years ago.  Letters were added, then dropped.  Some branches of my family added an extra “u” in the middle, while others changed the pronunciation entirely.  Then, when my ancestors arrived in America over 200 years ago, the name [...]

Tags: forensics, genealogy, Surname, Y-chromosome

The opening bars of “Who are You” crash through the speakers, the credits roll and the lead actors of “CSI” pull up at the crime scene to investigate yet another murder.
Since “CSI” premiered in 2000, the show, its spin-offs and imitators have hammered home the idea that a person’s genetic material can readily establish his [...]

Tags: CSI, David Craig, DNA testing, forensics, Stanley Nelson, TGen, UCLA