Identifying Non-Human Samples Found at a Crime Scene

Television shows like Dateline or Law & Order typically focus on identifying perpetrators through DNA found at the crime scene. But in reality, not every sample belongs to a human. Sometimes, samples may belong to household pets or even the meat you are cooking for dinner. Mirna Ghemrawi, a student at Florida International University, shares […]

10 Tips to Maintain Physical Distancing in the Lab

Laboratories can be crowded places. We are used to working around other people, tossing ideas back and forth. Dark rooms, cold rooms and large equipment spaces are often shared by several labs. Some labs have shut down completely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; others, especially those labs doing research around coronavirus biology, testing and […]

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!       Divide and Conquer: New Algorithm Examines Crime-Scene Bullets by Segment (NIST […]

From Processing Forensic DNA Samples to COVID-19 Tests: One Lab’s Experience

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, processing tests quickly has become a hurdle for many municipalities, leading to backlogs. In order to efficiently process incoming tests, some states have partnered with private labs. We spoke with members of one forensic lab that is now assisting with COVID-19 testing to see what steps they took. […]