The authoritative voice in forensic disciplines
The Lead
In their DNA: Finding El Salvador’s Missing Children
April 12, 2013 5:05 am | by Laura Barten | Articles | Comments
Today, reuniting surviving family members with their loved ones is supported not only by a number of human rights agencies and non-governmental organizations, but also by a small-but-growing group of committed genetic and forensic scientists.
Mapping a Room with Four Microphones and an Algorithm
June 19, 2013 9:03 am | by EPFL | News | Comments
An algorithm developed in EPFL’s School of Computer and Communications Sciences makes it...
The Future of the Columbus Forensic Lab
June 18, 2013 9:13 am | by John Douglas | News | Comments
The evidence vaults at the Columbus Police Department are full. Outfitted with 228 bins, the...
One 5-4 Ruling of Three Limits Silence’s Protection
June 18, 2013 8:47 am | by Adam Liptak | News | Comments
The Supreme Court issued three 5-to-4 decisions. One limited a criminal suspect’s right to...
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Metal Theft Thwarted by DNA on Gatorade Bottles
June 19, 2013 9:20 am | by KING 5 News | News | CommentsProsecutors say DNA left on Gatorade bottles led them to two men suspected in the largest known metal theft in Washington state. Evidence gathered by King County Sheriff's Detectives shows that the men allegedly took the wire to various scrap metal recycling businesses and sold the metal.
Animal CSI: Inside The Smithsonian's Feather Forensics Lab
June 19, 2013 8:23 am | by Rhitu Chatterjee | News | CommentsCarla Dove is an ornithologist and a forensic expert of sorts. But unlike most forensic scientists, who help identify perpetrators of crimes, Dove identifies victims. And the victims in this case are birds. From the skimpiest of remains — mere bone fragments and feathers — Dove often can trace the dead bird's species.
Temperature Controlled Vortexer
June 19, 2013 7:46 am | Benchmark Scientific | Product Releases | CommentsBenchmark Scientific's MultiTherm is a unique, temperature controlled vortexer with interchangeable blocks for tubes from 0.2ml to 50ml. It has a small, 8x11 inch footprint and programmable speed, time and temperature settings.
LC-MS Software
June 19, 2013 7:40 am | Thermo Scientific | Product Releases | CommentsThermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has introduced ten new or updated software packages to help customers harness the power of its new-generation liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) instruments and turn data into knowledge in a wide range of discovery and quantitation experiments.
A Review of Gun Safety Technologies
June 18, 2013 4:08 pm | by NIJ | News | CommentsNIJ has released “A Review of Gun Safety Technologies,” a Research Report by NIJ’s Mark Greene. The report is an assessment and market survey of existing and emerging gun safety technologies. It is an unbiased summary of technologies and the availability and use of those technologies to inform any future federal research and development strategy and innovation in gun safety technology.
NEC Software Identifies Boston Marathon Bombing
June 18, 2013 2:03 pm | by NEC | News | CommentsNEC Corporation of America (NEC), a leading provider and integrator of advanced IT, communications, managed services and biometric solutions, has announced its NeoFace Facial Recognition Software solution achieved high accuracy in an independent study conducted by Michigan State Univ. (MSU) and was able to identify a suspect from the recent Boston Marathon Bombing in the same study that simulated the post-bombing forensic work.
Exoneree Faces Ex-wife in Compensation Lawsuit
June 18, 2013 10:08 am | by Brandi Grissom | News | CommentsIn the spring of 1982, Steven Phillips was named a suspect in a string of sex crimes. Phillips spent 24 years in prison before DNA tests connected another man to the rapes and prompted the courts to declare Phillips innocent. In 2009, the state awarded him lump sum payments totaling more than $2 million, and a monthly annuity of more than $11,000. His ex-wife, now Traci Tucker, is arguing that she is entitled to a portion of that money.
Offutt Air Force Base Gets New Forensics Lab
June 18, 2013 9:35 am | by Steve Liewer | News | CommentsThe wheeled cafeteria-style tables are neatly lined up in white-tiled rooms, ready to hold the skulls and teeth and bone fragments that are often the only remaining evidence of America's long-missing warriors. The tables are part of a new $5 million forensics laboratory, officially opened at Offutt Air Force Base.
Collecting DNA at Arrest - Final Technical Report
June 18, 2013 8:30 am | by Urban Institute | News | CommentsCollecting DNA specimens from arrestees has become fairly commonplace across the country. More than half the states and the federal government have laws authorizing the collection of DNA prior to conviction, and about one million resulting profiles are now included in the National DNA Index System (NDIS), which matches offender DNA profiles to forensic profiles generated from crime scene evidence.
3D Measuring Macroscope
June 18, 2013 5:41 am | Keyence Corporation of America | Product Releases | CommentsThe NEW VR-3000 Series, One-Shot 3D Measuring Macroscope enables users to instantly perform accurate and repeatable non-contact profiles and measurements over a wide area. The VR-3000 Series incorporates a one-shot 3D algorithm, enabling 3D surface measurements such as height, angles, and radii to be taken simultaneously.
Solid-Core Particle LC Column
June 18, 2013 5:33 am | Waters Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsWaters Corporation has introduced CORTECS Columns, a new family of 1.6 micron solid-core UltraPerformance LC Columns. The higher efficiency brought to chromatography with CORTECS Columns allows laboratories to produce greater amounts of information faster with every chromatographic separation.
Building a New Facility? Consider Construction Safety
June 17, 2013 8:00 pm | by Vince McLeod | Articles | CommentsWhether building a new lab or renovating the old one, don't forget about the safety of the bystanders. Develop a Public Hazard Control Plan. The purpose of the Public Hazard Control Plan is to evaluate and reduce to a minimum the hazards to the public identified through analysis of the project prior to the commencement of work and throughout the process
Federal Investigators Called In as Colorado Firefighters Make Progress
June 17, 2013 4:55 pm | by Ed Payne and George Howell | News | CommentsAs hundreds of firefighters began to get the upper hand on a huge blaze near Colorado Springs, investigators stepped up their probe into the cause of the most destructive wildfire in the state's history. Investigators are treating the 16,000-acre Black Forest Fire, which was 75 percent contained, as a crime scene, though they don't yet know whether a crime was committed.
DNA Test Frees Man from a Long Prison Sentence
June 17, 2013 10:57 am | by Tony Rizzo | News | CommentsServing a lengthy prison sentence for a rape he didn’t commit, Robert Nelson asked for DNA testing to prove his innocence. Twice since 2009, he was turned down. In late 2011, Jackson County prosecutors working through cold cases sought testing for a very different reason: to find Nelson’s accomplice. A few months later, as prosecutors were nearly finished with their testing, a judge approved Nelson’s newest request.
Bites Derided as Unreliable in Court
June 17, 2013 10:39 am | by Amanda Myers, Associated Press | News | CommentsAt least 24 men convicted or charged with murder or rape based on bite marks on the flesh of victims have been exonerated since 2000, many after spending more than a decade in prison. Now a judge's ruling in New York could help end the practice for good.
