DNA methylation has been increasingly recognised for its potential use in forensic age prediction. In this study, our prediction model based on three CpG sites in three methylation markers was able to predict age for liquid blood samples with a mean absolute deviation of 5 years. The overall prediction accuracy of our model was similar to a previously published model, reanalyzed in our study. Additionally, the present study examined age prediction from bloodstains recovered at Day 0 and Day 21 using reduced quantities of DNA.

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Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from somatic cells of patients can be a good model for studying human diseases and for future therapeutic regenerative medicine. Current initiatives to establish human iPSC (hiPSC) banking face challenges in recruiting large numbers of donors with diverse diseased, genetic, and phenotypic representations. In this study, we describe the efficient derivation of transgene-free hiPSCs from human finger-prick blood. Finger-prick sample collection can be performed on a "do-it-yourself" basis by donors and sent to the hiPSC facility for reprogramming. We show that single-drop volumes of finger-prick samples are sufficient for performing cellular reprogramming, DNA sequencing, and blood serotyping in parallel. Our novel strategy has the potential to facilitate the development of large-scale hiPSC banking worldwide. STEM CELLS

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