Forensic Science | Forensic Magazine

Digital Forensics

Windows 7 Registry Forensics: Part 2
Many forensic examiners are not familiar with the Registry or its forensic importance. One way to gain first-hand knowledge is to explore the Registry on a live, non-forensic computer.
CSI Cell Phone
Mobile device forensics forecast: continued oscillation, chance of cloud computing.
The Digital Forensics Cyber Exchange Principle
Its application to cyber crime brings a new and exciting dimension to the famous Locard Exchange Principle.

Firearms

GSR: How Do You Know You're Right?
Using integrated SEM-EDX technology to provide automatic, rapid, and validated results.
Making The Case For 3D Ballistics Imaging Technology
3D scans of cartridge casings and expended bullets offer significant correlation and accuracy advantages. While responsible for solving thousands of firearms crimes in the past, 2D forensic ballistics systems are clearly behind the technology curve.
Automated SEM/EDS Analysis and Classification of Forensic Samples
New generation SEMs incorporate computer automation and detector technology that allows for rapid elemental analyses of small particles. Already the gold standard for GSR analysis, the technique is being evaluated for forensic soil comparisons.

Forensic Anthropology

Clandestine Graves: Geophysical Methods Used In Their Discovery and Subsequent Exposure
Geophysics involves the use of a variety of electromagnetic techniques that can be used to outline, discover, and plan an exhumation.
Piece by Piece: A Lifetime of Achievement
Dr. Hugh Berryman, an internationally recognized expert in forensic anthropology, built a powerhouse program at MTSU. Now he’s being recognized with the 2012 award for lifetime achievement in physical anthropology from the American Academy for Forensic Sciences.
Time to Sell the Farm
It’s time to retire usage of the vernacular term “Body Farm.” The term “Body Farm” is misleading and unhelpful.

Pathology

Case Study: Theft and Murder Unraveled by Forensic Investigation
A recent murder case in Rajasthan, India, involving a young married woman was unraveled by the crime scene team. The evidence and laboratory examination provided proof that the victim’s in-laws were trying to mislead the Investigating Officer by fabricating a story of burglary and murder.
Mycology: Missing Weapon In Forensic Arsenals?
If anyone bothered to look, crime-solving clues can often be found in fungi.
From Concept to Construction: Ontario's Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex
Ontario’s new, state-of-the-art forensic facility will allow for continuing education, future programmatic growth, and for the recruitment and retention of highly specialized staff, contributing to the advancement and evolution of forensic science and medicine.

Latent Prints

Equipment Planning Meets Laboratory Design
This article will discuss how equipment can influence the design and infrastructural needs of two laboratory space types where the identification of evidence takes place.
Biometrics: Eye on the Future
Biometrics technology has matured, offering some exciting new forensic products—and promising revolutionary innovations in the near future.
A Comparison of Physical Developer Formulas
Although the process is time consuming, using Physical Developer when other methods have failed could be the factor that helps solve a case.

Forensic Art

The New Eyewitness
Forensic DNA Phenotyping—predicting a person’s appearance by analyzing crime scene samples with suitable DNA markers—is a nascent science. But the potential exists. The scientific work just needs to be done.
Forensic Art
The case of an unidentified girl illustrates forensic reconstruction techniques. Learning about the science, facial features, muscles, proportions, different races, interviewing skills, composite drawings, skull reconstructions, and how gravity affects the deceased are all important to successful reconstructions.
Forensic Art: Age Progression
Surely, as we get older, we will all get the "lines on our face" we call wrinkles, but to a forensic artist who is working on an age progression or a facial reconstruction, the signs of ageing go much deeper than a crack or crease or fold in the skin.

Entomology

Crime Scene Bugs
By studying the types of bugs present at the scene and their stage of development, forensic entomologists can estimate the time of death, and in many cases, determine if the body was moved or disturbed and whether the deceased person had ingested drugs.
Rebuttal to Forensic Entomology: Myths Busted! Published in Forensic Magazine®, October/November 2006
We wish to take issue with two major points that the authors have identified as “myths” in “Forensic Entomology: Myths Busted!” andpresent some contrasting points of view.
Knowledge: The Key To Crime Scene Investigation
The field of crime scene investigation is constantly changing. With advances in technology and science, we have more tools than ever to help us solve crimes.

Impression Evidence

Step Toward Better Track Evidence Photos
Proper photography techniques are essential to the documentation and analysis of impression evidence.
Tool Mark Impressions
A slightly different technique for collecting tool mark impression evidence.
Innovations in Scanning Electron Microscopy Preserve Sample Integrity and Validity in Forensic Analysis
Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) provide forensic investigators with critical imaging and analytical capabilities that are not available from other techniques. In particular, they can resolve features as small as a nanometer, allowing useful magnifications of 100,000 times or more.

Forensic Sciences