How can pollen solve a crime?

Maybe when you think of pollen, you think of bees, or a commercial for allergy medicine.  But what about cracking cold cases? It might sound like a Sherlock Holmes story, but this is real life: unlike some other forms of evidence, pollen sticks around on hair, clothes and objects for a long time. And the unique shapes of pollen grains under a microscope can reveal geographic clues that help detectives track down everything from missing persons to counterfeit goods. In this episode, you’ll meet the only three forensic palynologists (AKA pollen-science sleuths) in the country. You’ll also meet an ASU researcher working on mathematical models that could make it easier for investigators to pinpoint where pollen samples are coming from. Along the way, you’ll learn the surprising ways that environmental change and crime-solving technology intersect – and how two species of cedar trees helped catch a killer. So grab your magnifying glass, put on your trench coat, and follow us into The Lab for the last episode of Season 1. Content note: This episode is about how scientists use pollen to help solve crimes. We won’t go into graphic detail, but we will discuss some of those crimes, including a case involving the death of a child. If you ever find yourself in possession of a microscope and an unknown type of pollen, this guide could help you figure it out. (It also has lots of cool images illustrating the shapes of different species’ pollen grains.) Learn more about forensic palynology and Daoqin Tong’s mathematical modeling research in this piece from ASU. Read about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using pollen as a forensic tool in this CBP magazine from 2016. Find out more about the Baby Doe case in this explainer or dive deeper into an archive of coverage from The Boston Globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices