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May 2022
58m 55s

Forensics, DNA, and Identifying Missing ...

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode

How do you identify human remains? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore DNA and the task to identify the remains of missing soldiers with biomedical scientist Tim McMahon and forensic anthropologist Franklin Damann. What is the DPAA?  

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/forensics-dna-and-identifying-missing-soldiers/

Thanks to our Patrons Jon Scherer, Thibault Deckers, Jimmy Jam, Evan Cooper, Barnato, Justin Ross, James Nichols, Lori, Emilie Talles, and Roy Slettbakk for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: Doctoroftcm, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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