lakehead u dna expert assists in international bestseller

an expert in molecular and paleo dna, dr. carney matheson has applied his work in paleo-dna to exploring ancient populations, unravelling mummies, and even investigations of the tomb of the shroud - a tomb containing the oldest shroud found in the holy land. it's the latter that caught the interest of a national bestselling author.

kathy reichs' latest novel, cross bones, is a murder mystery which delves into the world of forensic anthropology, biblical archaeology, and a tomb that may have held the remains of jesus' family.

dr. matheson was part of a research team that worked in israel to undertake the investigation on the tomb of the shroud. this work was conducted in jerusalem by dr. matheson with archaeologist shimon gibson, microbiologist charles greenblatt, and microscopist azriel gorski.

dr. matheson explains: "the tomb is the oldest tomb in the holy land that has a burial shroud. we were able to look at the disease state of the individuals and the genetic relationships within the tomb as well as identify what the fabric of the shroud was made from. kathy reichs wanted to understand all the aspects of the molecular studies so that she could use the context and the tomb of the shroud as part of her novel."

reichs acknowledges the work of dr. matheson and the paleo-dna laboratory in her book, and mentions the paleo-dna laboratory in the body of her novel.

"dr. matheson and the folks at the laboratory were a great help to me with the details of this research, and they added a sense of realism to the novel," reichs says. "i am thankful for their help, and look forward to the possibility of working with them again."