The researchers at the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus said the technique provides a useful tool for forensic scientists who can use it to establish the date of birth of an unidentified body -- and could have further consequences for health science research.

University of Copenhagen Associate Professor Niels Lynnerup said the technique might also have other applications.

"As has been pointed out by other researchers, we think the carbon dating of proteins and other molecules in the human body can also be used to study when certain kinds of tissue are generated and regenerated," said Lynnerup.

He said the technique might be applied to cancer tissue and cancer cells, determining when cancerous tissues formed and thereby furthering the understanding of cancer.

The findings are reported in the online journal PLoS One.