Academy of Forensic Medical Sciences

24/08/2026

What can insects contribute to our understanding of what happens after death?

This week we introduce Dr Martin Hall of the Natural History Museum, who contributes to the DipFMS course in the field of forensic entomology.

It is a specialist area in which knowledge of insect biology can contribute to the investigation of human remains, including questions surrounding decomposition and the post-mortem interval.

And it remains an active field of research. A systematic review published this year examined 88 studies involving human remains and identified both established areas of research and important gaps still to be addressed.

Having specialists such as Dr Hall contribute to the course allows students to learn not simply what is known, but to appreciate the scientific basis and continuing development of specialist forensic disciplines.

We are delighted to have Dr Hall contributing to the 2026–27 DipFMS course.

📢 Applications for October 2026 are now open.
🌐 www.afms.org.uk/forensicmedicalsciences

The Course comprises over 50 two-hour sessions covering a broad range of subjects, delivered by recognized forensic specialists and starting in October 2026 and ending in April 2027. Students who successfully complete the course will be eligible to take the Diploma in Forensic Medical Science...

22/08/2026

Which development in your opinion has had the greatest impact on modern forensic practice?:

DNA?

Post-mortem imaging?

Advances in human identification?

Digital technology?

Forensic science?

Or something else entirely?

There probably isn't one answer, and different professions may see this very differently.

We'd be interested to hear your view.

21/08/2026

For an investigator, knowing what to ask can matter as much as knowing the answer.

What can a particular injury establish?
What are the limitations of a scientific finding?

When is specialist forensic advice needed?
Police officers and others involved in investigation work alongside medical and scientific specialists, often without sharing the same professional language.

The DipFMS course provides an opportunity to understand more of the medicine and science that sits behind forensic evidence and investigation.

📢 Applications for October 2026 are open.
🌐 www.afms.org.uk/forensicmedicalsciences

20/08/2026

More than 50 lectures sounds impressive?

The range matters more than the number.
During the DipFMS course, students move between medicine, pathology, forensic science, identification, clinical forensic medicine and law.

A subject considered in one lecture may look quite different when approached later from the perspective of a scientist, lawyer or another forensic specialist.

That breadth is one of the real strengths of the course.

💻 Online, October 2026 to April 2027
🎓 60 CPD Credits
🌍 International applications welcome
📢 Applications are now open.
🌐 www.afms.org.uk/forensicmedicalsciences

19/08/2026

Not all forensic medicine takes place in the mortuary.

Clinical forensic medicine deals with the living, often in circumstances where healthcare, evidence and the law meet.

The examination of detainees, investigation of alleged assault and the assessment of vulnerable individuals can require careful clinical judgement, accurate documentation and an understanding of medicolegal responsibilities.

It is an important part of the DipFMS course and of forensic medicine more broadly.

📢 Applications for October 2026 are open.
🌐 www.afms.org.uk/forensicmedicalsciences

18/08/2026

How much do we really know about the use of insects in human death investigation?

A recently published systematic review examined almost four decades of forensic entomology research involving human remains.

The researchers identified 88 eligible studies, with work focusing on areas including post-mortem interval estimation, insect identification and succession during decomposition. They also highlighted areas where further research is still needed.

It is a useful reminder that forensic science is not static. Methods continue to be studied, questioned and refined as the evidence base develops.

That critical approach to forensic evidence is an important part of studying forensic medical sciences.

Read the systematic review on PubMed:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42215161/

Forensic entomology, the study of insects in legal investigations, is most commonly applied to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). While animal models have historically supported research in this field, their relevance to human forensic scenarios remains limited. A systematic review was conduct...

17/08/2026

What does epidemiology have to do with forensic medicine?

More than you might expect. Professor
Michael Freeman MedDr PhD MScFMS MPH FRCPath FFFLM FACE joins the DipFMS course to teach Forensic Epidemiology, exploring how epidemiological methods and reasoning can be applied to questions of forensic and legal significance.

It is a distinctive area of study and another example of the breadth of forensic medical sciences covered throughout the course.
We are delighted to welcome Professor Freeman to this year's teaching faculty.

📢 Applications for the October 2026 DipFMS course are now open.

🌐 https://lnkd.in/e4ir_ihz

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

16/08/2026

What end-of-life experts know about living well: love your wrinkles, celebrate birthdays and don’t obsess over work.

What does working close to death teach us about living well? Quite a lot...

This powerful piece from The Guardian brings together palliative care doctors and end-of-life practitioners who spend their working lives alongside people facing mortality. What emerges is strikingly simple: when life is stripped back, people rarely talk about status, possessions or whether they worked enough.

They talk about people.

Relationships. Love. Forgiveness. Purpose. Memories. The things left unsaid. The ordinary moments that, in the end, were never ordinary at all.

There is something here that resonates beyond palliative care.

Forensic medicine often meets death in a very different setting, through investigation, examination, evidence and the search for answers. Scientific rigour is essential. Objectivity is essential. But so is never losing sight of the individual behind the case.

Every person whose death is investigated had a life before the investigation began. A family. A history. Relationships. Plans. Experiences. A story.

Perhaps that is one of the most important lessons across medicine and the medicolegal science: the closer our work brings us to mortality, the more important it becomes to remember the humanity surrounding it.

And perhaps understanding death does something else too.

It reminds us to live.

A genuinely thought-provoking read, and one worth taking a few minutes to reflect on.

The article can be accessed here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/13/what-end-of-life-experts-know-about-living-well-love-your-wrinkles-celebrate-birthdays-and-dont-obsess-over-work?CMP=share_btn_url

15/08/2026

One forensic investigation. Many different professions.

A pathologist, police officer, forensic scientist, lawyer and Coroner's officer may all approach the same investigation from very different perspectives.

So, a question for our forensic and medico-legal community:
Which part of your own profession do you think other disciplines most often misunderstand?

We would be interested to hear your perspective.

Cross-disciplinary understanding is an important part of forensic practice and one of the principles reflected throughout the DipFMS course.

14/08/2026

Establishing identity is a scientific process with a profoundly human purpose.

When conventional identification is not possible, specialists may draw upon dental evidence, DNA, anthropology, archaeology and other methods to help establish who a person was.

Each discipline contributes something different.

Human identification is one of the areas explored on the DipFMS course, giving students an appreciation of both the science involved and the importance of multidisciplinary working.

Sometimes the most fundamental question in forensic investigation is also the simplest:
Who is this person?

Applications for October 2026 are open.
🌐 www.afms.org.uk/forensicmedicalsciences