Mexican scientists invent new technique to identify dead bodies In Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican desert, dead bodies dry out very quickly - making it difficult to determine the cause of death. This has caused problems for investigators in a city known for violent death - including the 400 women murdered during the 1990s in the still-unexplained "feminicides", and the hundreds of victims of the drug war, of which Juarez was the front line between 2006 and 2011. Now, the city's forensic scientists have invented a new technique for rehydrating dead bodies. They submerge the corpse in a chemical solution and then wrap it in plastic for four to seven days, giving the body a more natural appearance. The scientists say they have been able to identify or determine the cause of death of over 150 bodies with the new technique, and they plan to patent it. Images.