"Because of the developments and capabilities afforded to us today to unravel the mysteries of life, this has to be the most exciting time to be a biological scientist. The 21st century is truly the century of biology”. So saysBruce Budowle,who began a distinguished career in forensic genetics at the FBI laboratory at Quantico and is now Executive Director of the Institute of Investigative Genetics at the University of North Texas.

Bruce, together withAntti Sajantila(University of Helsinki) andManfred Kayser(Erasmus University), is co-Editor-in-Chief ofInvestigative Genetics, a new journal with a focus on how molecular genetics can answer questions in a wide range of science disciplines with societal relevance such as forensics, biosafety and evolutionary, anthropological and historical studies. InTales the double helix tells, the first of his regular series of columns,Mark Joblingshares his thoughts on how DNA-based research is rapidly evolving under the influence of technological advances, commercialisation, the internet, politics and wishful thinking.

Other articles published at launch include: the use of next-generation massively parallel (MPS) sequencing to detect strain-specificpolymorphisms in炭疽杆菌(anthrax) spores– the speed and accuracy of this technology makes it a powerful tool for investigating biocrimes or infectious disease outbreaks; an opinion piece onwhether theNIH policy on sharing GWAS data may prove to be counterproductiveand the development of single base extension assays to resolveY chromosome haplotypes in sub-Saharan African populations.

For more details please visit thejournal websiteorsign up for article updates.