Archaeoparasitology researchers have mapped the distribution of various parasite species through time and space in the Americas, and helped shed light on the effects of the expansion of prehistoric empires. Paleoethnobotanic research has provided an explanation of the origins and evolution of certain types of diabetes in populations native to the Southwestern United States and in Mexico. Researchers have also been able to reconstruct the diets of prehistoric Andean people, and to estimate the impacts of the Inca Empire expansion on indigenous agrarian economies. UNL forensic scientists have consulted with law enforcement authorities on anthropological, radiological, palynological, entomological and botanical investigations.