Worth Reading: Moss is So Unique it’s Acted Like Fingerprints to Help Solve a Dozen Crimes | Proof That Change Is Possible

Worth Reading: Moss is So Unique it’s Acted Like Fingerprints to Help Solve a Dozen Crimes | Proof That Change Is Possible

Why this story matters: This is one of those stories that quietly proves progress doesn’t always come with loud headlines. Quick summary: This story highlights recent developments related to good ideas, showing how constructive action can lead to meaningful results. credit – Field Museum of Chicago Tiny plants, like moss, are easy to overlook. They’re often as small as an eyelash, and they tend to grow on the ground in dark, wet places. But these small plants sometimes turn out to be big clues in forensic cases. A team of scientists learned that firsthand in 2013, when they were asked to use bits of moss to help pinpoint the location where a body was buried. Now, the researchers have published a paper in the journal Forensic Sciences Research, compiling all the cases they could find of mosses and their relatives being used to help solve crimes. “With our paper, we wanted to highlight the significance of botanical evidence, because chances are, investigators are simply overlooking it becaus…