Abstract
Few people decide when they’re children that they’d like to study the chemistry of death for a living. But Maiken Ueland set herself firmly on that path when she was a teenager—and she hasn’t looked back. Today, Ueland serves as deputy director of the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) at the University of Technology Sydney; taphonomy is the study of decay processes in once-living organisms. Ueland and her colleagues use donated human cadavers to characterize the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off during decomposition. Although researchers have known for almost 3 decades that decaying humans emit a characteristic lineup of volatiles , improved analytical instrumentation can more precisely reveal that mixture’s composition and help pinpoint unique biomarkers of decomposition. Ueland is using this knowledge to develop better tools—such as portable electronic “noses” that can detect those biomarkers—to find victims of crimes or mass disasters. Alla Katsnelson talked to
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