Knowing the time a human trace was left at a crime scene is crucial for solving the case.
We recently showed that timing trace deposition with circadian hormones is feasible.
Here we access the suitability of 21 mRNA markers for blood deposition timing.
We present 11 rhythmic mRNAs from analysing blood collected every 2 h for 36 h.
Three mRNAs, melatonin, cortisol allow estimating 3 time categories with AUC 0.88-0.95.