Scavenging by vultures can make it extremely difficult for forensic scientists to estimate time of death. One study found that it took 37 days for a flock of vultures to discover a human corpse that had been laid out in an experimental enclosure but only 5 hours to strip the body down to a pile of bones. Researchers are using GPS to discern patterns in the way vultures scatter remains.
Insect repellents can keep bugs off a body—even after death. New research shows that when pig carcasses are doused with DEET, they attract fewer bugs and decompose more slowly, which could cause forensic entomologists to underestimate a person's time of death by several days.