Humanitarian Forensic Scientists Trace the Missing, Identify the Dead and Comfort the Living
Ahmad Samarji, Phoenicia University and Dina Shokry, Cairo University The word “forensic” is typically associated with crimes and legal disputes. Forensic medicine, for example, applies medical knowledge to establish the causes of injury or death. But forensic science can have a humanitarian role, too. Working under international humanitarian law rather than local or […]
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! How a DNA Database Helped Solve a Horrific Double Murder (NY […]
Under the Microscope – Nicole Novroski
De-convolution of complex mixtures can be challenging. Various improvements in polymerase chain reaction coupled with capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) and massively parallel sequencing (MPS) chemistries coupled with downstream statistical analyses have been developed and implemented to better resolve two or more person DNA mixtures. However, current genotyping outputs describe STR variation solely based on allele size […]
Under the Microscope – Brittney Chilton
In her presentation at ISHI, Brittney Chilton (Criminalist II at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division) will share the story of Washoe County employee, Chris Long. In 2014, Chris was diagnosed with AML/MDS Leukemia. He underwent a stem cell/bone marrow transplant and volunteered to participate in a case study led by the Washoe […]
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! Eurofins Scientific: Cyber-Attack Leads to Backlog of 20,000 Forensic Samples (BBC […]
Under the Microscope – Regina Wells
Laboratories across the country are dealing with backlogs of sexual assault kits waiting to be tested. Laws in many states have changed requiring all kits to be tested, increasing the caseload for laboratories as well as the turnaround time in which results are obtained. The ANDE 6C Rapid DNA System can analyze an evidence sample […]
Under the Microscope – Lisa Mertz
Within the past 15-20 years, successful technological advances in forensic science have solved many cold cases. The increase in the number of possible items that might presently be tested as evidence in criminal matters, in general, has led to the need for collaborative efforts among the New York City DNA Laboratory, the New York City […]
Under the Microscope – Charlotte Word
In the early days of DNA profiling, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) testing required a relatively large amount of DNA for the development of a DNA profile, and the bloodstain left behind was still visible or detectable using presumptive testing. By the late 1990s, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing had replaced RFLP, and the amount […]
Under the Microscope – Kevin Cheng
Reproducibility is one of the main principles of the scientific method. Reproducibility in forensic DNA interpretation typically relates to the reported match statistic. The development of probabilistic genotyping (PG) solutions using semi-continuous and continuous models was partly in a response to intra and inter laboratory differences to improve reproducibility of the results. However, there are still […]
