The Internet discussion forums provide useful sources of information regarding the effects and toxicity of cathinones, which can be taken into account when assessing the safety of drugs.

Despite the unique subjective effects associated with the use of NPS, harmful effects could be severe and/or lethal. Therefore, there is a need to develop research in the area of NPS and promote awareness among healthcare professionals.

This paper examines unusual eighteenth and nineteenth century dental treatment and its consequences, in a nobleman excavated from beneath St. Nicholas' Church, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK in the early 1990s. This rare archaeological case exhibits erosion of dental enamel on the labial surface of all the anterior dentition. A programme of historical research suggests that this might be attributed to the application of an acid-based dental tincture or the use of an abrasive substance to whiten the teeth. Palliative treatment for the consequence of this application was prescribed by Dr Robert Blake of Dublin. Further, it bears witness to three dental restorations, two of gold and one tin. The two gold (foil) fillings are an occlusal in the upper-right second molar and a cervical on the labial surface of the upper left canine. The tin filling is an occlusal in the upper left second molar. Excavation of the carious tissue appears to have been undertaken using a spoon shaped implement.

This article presents a multidisciplinary analysis of a human skull with preserved soft tissue curated by a small museum in Boscastle, Cornwall, UK. The skull lacks a mandible and is coated in a black tar-like substance. Records left by a previous museum curator (now deceased) claimed the skull to be the head of a medieval execution victim. The skull was purportedly recovered from a London church that was destroyed during the Second World War where it had been kept in a carved oak box. If these details are correct, the skull would appear to have been venerated as a relic. The skull and box have been analysed using a range of techniques including computerised tomography, laser scanning, microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and radiocarbon dating. These analyses demonstrated the skull in fact to be that of an Egyptian mummy dating from the Ptolemaic period. Other instances have been noted of parts of Egyptian mummies being presented as European saintly relics, and the 'Boscastle skull' would appear to be an example of such. A wider point illustrated by the work presented here is that sufficient application of modern analytical techniques may reveal considerable information regarding human remains which otherwise have little or no provenance. This point strengthens arguments for the retention of such remains by curating institutions.

Environmental forensics is an established discipline in North America, but has yet to make an impact within Europe and more specifically within the UK. In this paper we explore the reasons for this and explore the nature and fundamental philosophy that underlies this discipline. Case studies can be used to explore the complexity that can be associated with an environmental forensic investigation and we argue that there is a demand for professionals with skills in forensic practice within the environmental sector today. The paper finishes by suggesting that environmental forensics is a discipline of its moment within Europe for which the Higher Education sector must now cater.