Who They Were: World Trade Center and Forensic Anthropology

A new book on the intensive DNA and forensic research it took to identify physical remains of 58 percent of the World Trade Center victims has been published by the Free Press. Written by Penn State biochemist Dr. Robert C. Shaler, who oversaw the DNA studies of the WTC victims, the book details the innovative use of mtDNA analysis, when it became clear that standard DNA typing was not going to be feasible. In all, a total of 1,592 individuals were identified out of a presumed 2,749 missing individuals, and from nearly 20,000 samples during the four year study.

EurekAlert report on the book
Who They Were: Inside the World Trade Center DNA story: The Unprecedented Effort to Identify the Missing