Improving forensic investigation for polonium poisoning

Venoms and poisonings during the centuries. A narrative review

Suffice it to say that the first traces of its use by man date back to ten thousand years ago the venom or poison since the last period of the Paleolithic man used poison to hunt and for defence. Indeed, in the second half of the 19th century, was found in some caves arrows made from the bones of animals characterized by particular grooves. In ancient Greece, the term pharmakon (φάρμακον) had a double meaning: remedy for therapy and venom. This is the period in which we become aware of the fact that a poison cannot be defined only as a substance capable of changing the properties of things. The poisonings are very frequent in the history of the Roman Empire and later in the Renaissance and the modern era. Poison was the protagonist political intrigues of power and is one of the most used lethal weapons over the years. Optimal solution for a perfect murder, the poison has a long history. Its success is due to the invisible and often unpunished death.

[The death of Yasser Arafat: molecular-genetic authentication of the remains as an indispensable condition for the evaluation of the medical hypotheses of the cause of his death]

The objective of the present study was the molecular-genetic authentication of the remains as an indispensable condition for the evaluation of the medical hypotheses of the cause of death in 2004 of Yasser Arafat, the former Palestinian leader and the first president of the Palestinian National Administration, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. We carried out molecular-genetic investigations aimed at establishing the circumstances and cause of the death of Yasser Arafat including the analysis of the relevant medical documentation, the examination of the burial place at Ramallah, remains, and personal belongings stored in his Al Muqata'ah residence at Ramallah. The objective of the present molecular- genetic investigations was to confirm the authenticity of the fragments of Yasser Arafat's remains available for radio-toxicological, chemical toxicological, and other laboratory studies. The reference objects were the contact traces left on the personal belongings by their owner. The aggregate probabilistic estimate of the coincidence of genotype traits of autosomal DNA, Y-chromosomal DNA, and mtDNA was at least 99,(9)29 4% which gives evidence of the genetic identity of the objects of study. It is this value (99.999999 <...> 9999999(29) 4%) that characterizes the probability that the bone fragments provided for the laboratory studies are actually authentic remains of Yasser Arafat.