iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

I will also say that any AI model is only as good as the data it's trained on. We acknowledge that gender identity is important for so many people; we are doing our best to bring forward practical solutions and methods to aid in the identification of trans individuals. Our work is for the people.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

FFS and FMS are two ways we can posit that an individual is likely to refer to themselves as not being of the sex we've estimated them to be based on their skeletal morphology. The field has a lot to go in that regard, and research is coming out because of how tans people are victims of violence

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

between artefacts and burial remains. The AI tool functions to aid in our assessment of skeletal sex - they are not a replacement for humans. We also have to operate within the confines of our professional ethics. Can we reliably ascertain a person's gender identity from skeletal remains?

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

especially in forensics, when cross-examination can be brutal. We want to give identities back to those who've lost them, but we must also remain cognisant of how that goal can be affected by our personal actions. You'll need to speak with an archaeologist for their opinion on association...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

It really depends on when the individual started their hormone treatment, and even then, we'll need more empirical testing in that regard. That being said, we analyse skeletal remains independently of other contextual evidence. You've already indicated bias, we don't need more of that...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

The politicisation of our work for the benefit of those who seek to tear trans people down is sickening, and I'm sorry that you've had to experience that yourself. We do know that hormonal treatment will have an effect on the skeletal structures. Whether that change is significant? Hard to tell...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Hi. A few things: 1. Sex and gender aren’t interchangeable terms. You, of all people, should know that 2. A little Google Scholar search will show you trans people are the focus of new research in forensic anthropology 3. Phrenology is a pseudoscience. Stay far away from that Happy to chat.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

It's in cases like this I wish there was more we could do to broaden our engagement with the general public. We can be a pretty insular people sometimes, but we shouldn't let that get in the way of being misrepresented. Anyway, it's back to the grind for me! #forensky

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

It would be terrible if they shuttered. I'd like to visit there at some point.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Third, an association with eugenics is also unsubstantiated. Forensic anthrpology is not concerned with improving the genetic quality of humans. I think it rather strange for such as an association given we deal with deceased individuals. Such callous and reactionary statements from being made.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Second, there are a plethora of studies in the forensic anthropological literature which tackle the issue of identifying transgender individuals from skeletal remains. Sex and gender are also two non-interchangable terms. Forensic anthropologists do not comment on gender identity.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

First, phrenology is a pseudoscience. We do not engage with pseudoscientific material. The features we assess in the skull for sex estimation have biological and functional underpinnings in evolutionary theory. The assertion that we instead rely on phrenology is misleading and inaccurate.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Taking a look at some of the reposts from this release and it’s a little concerning that people have associated our work with eugenics and/or phrenology. Both could not be further from the truth.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Popping back here after a hefty absence (the thesis stress is real) to say that I’m so chuffed that some of my research is out there making waves! As always, if anyone has questions they’d like answers to, I’d be more than happy to take them (if I can answer them; I’ll tell you if I can’t).

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

There's more! But I think this series of posts will end here for now. Stick around as I'll write about adult age estimation in another thread. Happy holidays, everyone! #forensics

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

There are two different standards for using the hand-wrist complex to estimate age; both these standards use the same set of bones, but how they derive the final age estimates are slightly different. Here's a link to read more about this: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Bone age: assessment methods and clinical applications

The main bone age assessment methods are the Greulich-Pyle and Tanner-Whitehouse 2 methods, both of which involve left hand and wrist radiographs. Several other bone age assessment methods have been d...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

The hand-wrist complex is one of the most well-documented regions of the skeleton used for juvenile age estimation. There are 28 bones (hand bones, radius and ulna), which is great because we can see how each of these bones develop and match them against known X-rays. Pattern-matching!

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

There are special protections offered to those under the age of 18 and in many jurisdictions, the age of majority may also be 18. So how does a #forensic anthropologist estimate age when the person is still alive? X-rays! Remember when I said that the number of bones drops to 206? That's how!

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Fun fact: in recent years, #forensic anthropologists have increasingly been asked to estimate the age of living individuals! These are of particular interest for refugees and asylum seekers, especially those who travel alone and don't have identity documents which list their date of birth.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Standard 133 provides details on what bones a #forensic anthropologist should examine to estimate age. There are four categories: 1. Fetal 2. Infant and Child 3. Adolescent or Young Adult 4. Adult Each makes use of the varying biological processes to inform the observer on what to look for.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

I adulthood, bones have finished developing and growing, so now aging becomes much harder. The methods we use involve examining the rate at which bones degenerate over the course of the lifespan. Different bones degenerate at different rates, and differences do exist between and within populations!

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

While we're on the topic of growth, we also look at dental development when estimating age (cool isn't it?). Teeth, like bones, develop and grow at predictable rates. They don't tend to deviate too much, except in cases where the child is severely malnourished or ill, and between boys and girls.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

The general principle of age estimation involves our understanding of how bones grow, are maintained, and degenerate, over the course of an individual's lifespan. When we're young, bones grow and fuse together, which is how the number of bones drops from 300+ at birth to 206 in adulthood.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Hey! I'm back, and this time we'll be looking at age estimation in forensic anthropology. Again, we'll take reference from @theaafs.bsky.social's Standards 133, which you'll be able to access via the link below: www.aafs.org/asb-standard...

aafs.org

Standard for Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology

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Reposted by Ridhwan Lye

American Academy of Forensic Sciences @theaafs.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Calling all aspiring forensic scientists! This is the session for you to attend at #AAFS2025: "Back to Your Future: Forensic Opportunities in the AI Era." This session features excellent speakers and prepare the next generation of our industry. Program: www.aafs.org/annual-confe...

aafs.org

SS2 | Young Forensic Scientists Forum (YFSF)

The mission of the YFSF is to provide education, mentorship, and resources to students and champion young forensic scientists in order to promote interest and longevity in the field while encouraging ...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

So, why is estimating sex so important then? Well, the other biological attributes are dependent on whether the individual is likely female or male. Sex-based differences in how the skeleton maintains itself (homeostasis), and how fast and how long bones grow, have been well-studied and reported.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

There may be several reasons why sex cannot be estimated, hence the inclusion of "indeterminate": 1. The bones recovered aren't appropriate for assessment 2. The individual might be too young (juvenile bones) 3. The bones are too damaged for assessment 4. The estimates conflict with each other

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

When writing case reports, the 090 Standard sets out how sex is typically reported, using one of these five terms: - Female - Probable female - Indeterminate - Probable male - Male On top of that, we should also include the error rates associated with these estimates, and what methods were used.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

We can visualise these differences on a scale (e.g., on a scale from 1 to 5, how prominent is your glabella?) or with measurement data. #Forensic anthropologists would typically use both data types and use multiple bones since overlaps may exist (e.g., wide pelvic outlet with a robust skull).

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

So, which bones would we look at to estimate sex? There are many we can choose from, but the two most common are the pelvis and skull. Why? Tl;dr The pelvis is distinct in that females require a wider pelvic outlet for childbirth. The skull is more robust in males mostly because of mate selection.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

There are a few things to note when estimating sex: 1. Sex and gender are not interchangeable terms and mean different things 2. We estimate sex, rather make a determination, because we're only human, and will make mistakes, even with really accurate methods in our toolkit

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

@theaafs.bsky.social has plenty of published standards that provide context and helpful guidelines on how to estimate each of these attributes. Let's look at Standard 090 for the estimation of sex, which you'll be able to access here: www.aafs.org/asb-standard...

aafs.org

Standard for Sex Estimation in Forensic Anthropology

This standard sets forth methods for estimating sex from adult skeletal elements obtained directly from skeletal remains or radiographic images of skeletal remains. The methods in this standard provid...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Let's break this down a little more. #Forensic anthropologists are routinely asked to perform what's known as a biological assessment. It involves the analysis of recovered skeletal material to estimate the following attributes: - Sex - Age-at-death - Ancestry (population affinity) - Stature

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

My next series of posts will cover what sort of work a forensic anthropologist might engage in, drawing on some personal experience and the research I've done over the last several years. Stay tuned!

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Think of it this way: you're trying to solve a portion of a massive jig-saw puzzle, but you have no reference picture and you don't know if you've got all the pieces for your particular section. You've got to make do with what you have. Such is the life of a #forensic practitioner.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

#forensics in general are never quite as clear-cut as the TV shows present them to be. One of the first things I was told when I entered my first class was to be disillusioned by the portrayal of forensic experts in TV and film. It's no where near as glamorous or as quick as they make it out to be.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Generally speaking, forensic anthropologists are concerned primarily with human identification. In so much as providing investigating authorities (e.g., police) with information that might help them associate an unknown individual with an identity. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Kinda...

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Biological anthropology is the study of how humans are similar/different to each other across time and geographical distance. Evolution, human anatomy, and adaptation are all considered in this subfield. Forensic anthropology is thus the application of biological anthropology to medicolegal cases.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

So, first big question: how is forensic anthropology defined? Let's first look at the term 'anthropology'. The term is used to describe the study of humans. There are many subfields in anthropology, but the one to focus on is biological anthropology.

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

The @theaafs.bsky.social is an amazing account to follow for all things related to #forensicscience!

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Ridhwan Lye @mrriddyl.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Hey everyone! As you’ve seen from my bio, I’m a PhD candidate in forensic anthropology. I’m hoping to use this account to share some cool and fun stuff about my research and the field in general. Feel free to ask questions, too! I’ll do my best to answer them 📚📚📚

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