Why so Many Rape Investigations are Dropped Before a Suspect is Charged
Ching-Yu Huang, Bournemouth University and Fay Sweeting, Bournemouth University Even after 15 years serving as a police officer, Fay still vividly remembers the first rape investigation she took part in. The survivor, a 17-year-old girl, had been raped by a man in his twenties at a party. A video-recorded interview and a medical […]
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! A Serial Killer ‘Tried to Erase His Victims.’ But Three Bodies […]
Using DNA at the Border: Untangling Misconceptions
As the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy unfolded in Spring-Summer 2018, so too did a barrage of stories around migrant children being separated from their parents, and then mandates to re-unify them by judge-ordered deadlines. Atop the chaos were calls for DNA testing to screen migrants for trafficking, offers from genomics companies to donate tests […]
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! Genetic Genealogy Links Former Marine to Young Woman’s Murder in 1976: […]
Painstaking Veterinary Forensics Work Helps Combat Animal Abuse
Written by: Kendra Coulter, Brock University Many people have seen dramatizations of forensics on shows likes Bones and CSI. Forensics is the application of scientific principles and methods to criminal investigations at crimes scenes and in labs. In real life, forensic science is being applied to different victims: animals. Front-line officers undertake […]
Forensic Scientist of Note: Robin Cotton
It was Alec Jeffrey’s paper on RFLP analysis that proved the catalyst for Robin Cotton to alter her career path from research on the Y chromosome to the applied science of DNA typing. A biochemist by training, Cotton had a PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry from UC Irvine and two post-docs under her […]
Clearing the Sexual Assault Backlog in Murdertown, USA
Clearing the sexual assault backlog in the US has become a top priority over the past couple of years, because each rape kit that sits on a shelf untested represents a victim whose case has not yet been investigated. In Flint, Michigan, the backlog stood at 1,047 untested kits when Jen Janetsky became an […]
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! DNA Database Helps Identify Missing Persons (NBCDFW5 – 5/18/2019) NamUs holds […]
Exploring the Value of Biogeographic Ancestry in the Absence of a DNA Database
There are many scenarios encountered in forensic casework in which bone may be the only viable sample type for DNA testing, including fires, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, war conflicts, airline crashes, homicides, human trafficking, and mass graves. In these cases, the condition of recovered human remains can range from relatively intact to highly degraded and/or […]
