Overview
- The PLOS Genetics study reports nine gene markers and metabolic signals that shift predictably during the late larval plateau.
- In laboratory tests with blow fly Phormia regina, the method aged larvae more accurately than size- or appearance-based estimates.
- The technique closes a key blind spot in forensic entomology when weight, size, and behavior offer little timing resolution.
- FIU researchers Matthew DeGennaro and Jeffrey Wells, with Ph.D. candidate Sheng-Hao Lin, built the model from timed genetic analyses.
- The team says field testing across variable conditions is the next step before the tool can be adopted in death investigations.