Identification of the skeletal remains of Josef Mengele by DNA analysis.

There has been considerable controversy over the identity of the skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil in 1985 and believed to be those of Dr Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz 'Angel of Death'. Bone DNA analysis was therefore conducted in an attempt to provide independent evidence of identity. Trace amounts of highly degraded human DNA were successfully extracted from the shaft of the femur. Despite the presence of a potent inhibitor of DNA amplification, microsatellite alleles could be reproducibly amplified from the femur DNA. Comparison of the femur DNA with DNA from Josef Mengele's son and wife revealed a bone genotype across 10 different loci fully compatible with paternity of Mengele's son. Less than 1 in 1800 Caucasian individuals unrelated to Mengele's son would by chance show full paternal inclusion. DNA analysis therefore provides very strong independent evidence that the remains exhumed from Brazil are indeed those of Josef Mengele.     

Distinguishing “Background” Hydrocarbons from Contamination Using Chemical Fingerprinting

Background hydrocarbons, derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources, exist at some level in all environments. In some of these, particularly soils and sediments, the background hydrocarbons can be confused with authentic contamination and increase the measured concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) or regulated hydrocarbons (e.g., PAH). Therefore, the unrecognized presence of background hydrocarbons has the potential to erroneously increase the liability due to any authentic contamination. Chemical fingerprinting of the extractable hydrocarbon fraction provides a means to recognize the occurrence of background hydrocarbons and a means to account for them when assessing the source(s) of authentic contamination. In this paper, the issue of background hydrocarbons is presented, including several examples of the chemical fingerprints of common naturally occurring and anthropogenic hydrocarbons that are found in soils and sediments.     

Australian women in science : Two unorthodox careers

Today it is most unlikely that anyone without the appropriate qualifications could become a scientist. But Helen Newton Turner, an animal geneticist, and Isobel Bennett, a marine biologist, starting to work in science quite by accident, have become nationally and internationally accepted by their peers. The paper compares and contrasts the careers of these two eminent Australian women scientists, from childhood to retirement and even later, and discusses the factors responsible for their success. The main ingredients were of course their own intelligence, interest, determination, and capacity for hard work. Notwithstanding these personal qualities, however, their careers would not have been possible without the influence and support of two eminent scientific mentors. With the guidance, encouragement, and help of these enlightened men, both women went on to achieve outstanding success in traditionally male-dominated fields.