Just Blowflies and Extreme Temperatures_2020NIJRandD_128

In episode five of the 2020 R&D Season, Just Science interviews Dr. Travis Rusch, a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University, about fluctuating temperatures in forensically important blowflies. Forensic entomologists use predictable developmental rates of certain necrophagus insects to estimate time of colonization, postmortem interval, and time of death. However, extreme fluctuations in temperature can affect these development rates in unknown ways. Dr. Rusch hopes to shed light on this issue and advance the field of forensic entomology through his grant work. Listen along as he discusses the utility of forensic entomology, the life cycle of blowflies, and the next phase of his research in this episode of Just Science. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.