IDENTIFYING the dead must be one of the most harrowing tasks that bereaved
relatives and GPs face. Teeth are often the best clue, but how can a pathologist
identify a corpse with dentures?
Hisashi Kishigami, a dentist from Osaka, came up with the idea of a silicon
chip that can be embedded in a set of false teeth
(New Scientist, 30 September, p 15)
to help speed up the process. I suggested to Paul Boateng, the Home Office
minister with responsibilities for coroners’ law, that chip technology was a
sensible idea.
Boateng replied that anything making it easier to identify…
