In May 2019 Google announced the consolidation of all its travel features. Google Maps, Trips, Hotels and Flights will combine to make one Google Travel, easing the process for vacation planning. Travel startup VacationRenter, which launched last year, pioneered this model for vacation rentals, based on an artificial intelligence driven platform. According to VacationRenter's newly appointed COO, ex-Googler Marco del Rosario, both Google Travel and VacationRenter are early adopters of a pivotal strategy for today's travel technology: consolidation. Digital Journal: How has the world of travel changed in recent years?

Faith Hedgepeth was bludgeoned to death four years ago inside her off-campus apartment at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in a case that remains unsolved. The killer left behind a chilling note and traces of DNA -- which a forensic technology company has now used to create a 3-D sketch of what the suspect might look like. A "snapshot tool" developed by Parabon NanoLabs has created a 3-D image of the killer based on DNA traits, and authorities are hopeful the sketch could lead to a break in the case. The Reston, Va.-based Parabon Nanolabs, with funding from the Department of Defense, debuted the breakthrough type of analysis called DNA phenotyping in 2015 which the company said can predict a person's physical appearance from the tiniest DNA samples, like a speck of blood or strand of hair. The DNA phenotyping service, commercially known as "Snapshot," could put a face on millions of unsolved cases, and generate investigative leads when the trail has gone cold.