If you've watched enough reruns of shows like CSI, Bones, and Law and Order, you probably know by now that when forensic specialists find DNA evidence, the suspect is often identified within the next couple of minutes—as soon as the team sticks the results of DNA analysis into a computer program. Although the real life process isn't quite as speedy, DNA certainly has been the highest bar for identification in forensics. But when it comes to hair samples of missing persons or those found at crime scenes, sequencing the proteins in those locks may work better than DNA.

In a study published in the journal PLOS One on September 7, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California demonstrated a method of extracting genetic information from proteins found in hair that is remarkably reliable. "Currently forensic science is very dependent on DNA," says primary author Glendon Parker, a biochemist at Livermore. "But analyzing proteins can add information that can help make a case stronger."