The CSI Effect: Has Gil Grissom Broken the Justice System?
According to Entertainment Weekly, crime drama television shows accounted for 13 of the top 50 television shows watched during the 2014-2015 season. The number of viewers these television shows brought in is a staggering 159.46 million viewers. With these kinds of numbers, it’s safe to say that the average American citizen is familiar with the […]
Does Bias Exist in Forensic Science?
A basic principle of psychology says that a person’s desires and expectations will influence how they perceive and interpret what they see. Is neutrality then a myth? Will a person always be influenced by what they have observed or are told? More importantly, will this information impact the conclusion they reach? In many aspects of […]
Phenotyping – What Can and Should We Predict?
David Ballard of King’s College London describes what phenotyping can accurately predict, the ethical and legal issues surrounding the topic, and the role it should play in solving crime. TRANSCRIPT: I’m David Ballard. I’m a Research Associate in Forensic Genetics at King’s College London. We’re a group that does both casework, research, […]
Catching a Child Abuser in 5 Days
Among all crimes committed, crimes against children are especially heinous, and it is vitally important that these offenders are removed from the streets as soon as possible to prevent them from committing a second crime. The case that follows is one that was solved in just five days by the Anne Arundel County Crime Lab […]
Identifying the Disappeared of Guatemala
Fredy Peccerelli of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation shares how he became involved with identifying the Disappeared of Guatemala and the process of using DNA to empower the victims’ families. TRANSCRIPT: My name is Fredy Peccerelli. I’m the Executive Director of the Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation. We’re an organization that focuses on […]
The Reality of DNA Phenotyping
It is easy to get excited or frightened about the predictive powers of DNA phenotyping, depending on your perspective. Knowing what genes led to higher intelligence and athletic ability was the first step towards the designer babies of GATTACA. Is this knowledge worth having given the potential for misuse? Going to such extremes with genetic selection makes for […]
Identifying Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus
Marie Allen of Uppsala University shares how her team identified the remains of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus through DNA analysis. TRANSCRIPT: My name is Marie Allen, and I’m a professor in Forensic Genetics as Uppsala University in Sweden. I work mainly with forensic research. We work quite a lot with trying to enhance […]
Under the Microscope – Chuck Heurich
The ISHI27 agenda is already filling up with some great talks from amazing speakers! While the forensic community is a tight-knit group, we can always get a little closer, right? With that in mind, we asked our speakers some questions to get to know them a little better outside of their work. We’ve been posting […]
Generating a Suspect’s Mugshot from Solely DNA
Ellen Greytak of Parabon Nanolabs shares how they can predict a person’s appearance, and how they’re using the technology to help solve crime. TRANSCRIPT: I’m Ellen McRae Greytak. I’m the director of Bioinformatics at Parabon Nanolabs and we do DNA Phenotyping – so predicting a person’s appearance, ancestry, all that stuff – […]
