Aug 25 2017

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!

To Study Ancient Peoples from Colorado, Scientists Turn to Turkey DNA (KUNC – 8/18/2017)

• New DNA analysis has reaffirmed the exact times when ancient peoples from Colorado’s Mesa Verde region moved in a mass exodus to the Northern Rio Grande north of Santé Fe. Native tribes in the southwest prefer human remains stay in the ground, so scientists from multiple universities, including the University of Colorado Boulder, turned to Thanksgiving mascots for DNA.

DNA Test of Virginia Beach Woman may be Break in 1996 Baby ‘Hope’ Cold Case (SouthSide Daily – 8/18/2017)

• Police are narrowing their search for the mother of “Hope,” an infant whose body was found hanging in a plastic bag at a Virginia Beach business in 1996.

Federal Funding Cuts Put Missing Persons and John Doe Cases on the Back Burner (Time – 8/19/2017)

• But this year the National Institute of Justice decided not to offer millions of dollars in grants for DNA technology to identify missing people and instead reallocated that money to programs that help state and local governments audit and track backlogged rape kits.

Rapid DNA Act Signed into Law, Setting Target of 90 Minute CODIS Profiles (Forensic Magazine – 8/22/2017)

• The Rapid DNA Act of 2017, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, proposes lowering that turnaround rate to 90 minutes or less, directly at booking stations around the country in some situations – potentially speeding up the entire genetic screening process.

Missouri Governor Stays Execution of Convicted Killer Amid New DNA Evidence (CNN – 8/22/2017)

• A newly-created board will review the case of a convicted murderer, after Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens issued a stay of execution on Tuesday in light of new DNA evidence.

Solving Crime One Word at a Time (Forensic Magazine – 8/24/2017)

• They turned to Dr. Carole Chaski, now the leading expert in the field of forensic linguistics. She examined and compared syntactic patterns, which focuses on the way an individual constructs a sentence and how words are used in relation to one another.

Over $4 Million to Test Backlogged Sexual Assault Kits (KTVN – 8/24/2017)

• In addition to the $3 million that the was approved in the 2017 Legislative Session today $1.35 million more was allocated to address the backlog of sexual assault kit testing .

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