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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Enhanced Genetic Analysis of Single Human Bioparticles Recovered by Simplified Micromanipulation from Forensic &#8216;Touch DNA&#8217; Evidence
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Performance of Forensic Age Estimation by Aspartic Acid Racemization and DNA Methylation: A Systematic Review.

Eko Prastyo1, Elza Ibrahim Auerkari2, Antonius Winoto Suhartono2

  • 1Forensic Odontology Specialist Study Program, Department of Oral Biology, University of Indonesia, Depok, West Java, Indonesia.

F1000Research
|May 25, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Forensic age estimation using DNA methylation is more reliable than aspartic acid racemization, especially for damaged remains. This method offers faster results and requires fewer samples, making it a superior choice for chronological age determination.

Keywords:
Age estimationDNA methylationaspartic acid racemizationforensics

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic science
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular biology

Background:

  • Forensic age estimation is challenging with decomposed or damaged remains, necessitating analysis of bones and teeth.
  • Molecular changes in hard tissues and proteins during aging have been extensively researched.
  • Aspartic acid racemization and DNA methylation are leading methods for forensic age estimation due to their accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the accuracy of DNA methylation and aspartic acid racemization for forensic age estimation.
  • To evaluate the suitability of these methods for challenging forensic cases.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines.
  • Searched electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Semantic Scholar) for articles published between 2017 and 2022.
  • Included 12 eligible journal articles for the comparative analysis.

Main Results:

  • DNA methylation analysis is user-friendly with available kits and yields results quickly from minimal samples.
  • The DNA methylation method demonstrates greater resilience to thermal and other forms of damage compared to aspartic acid racemization.
  • Twelve studies were reviewed, highlighting the practical advantages of DNA methylation.

Conclusions:

  • Aspartic acid racemization offers high accuracy, particularly for determining age at death, but is sensitive to temperature and sample condition.
  • DNA methylation is more stable across varying temperatures and conditions, making it a more robust method.
  • DNA methylation is recommended for chronological age determination, even in severely degraded or charred remains.