Michelle Taylor

Editor-in-Chief

Forensic

Michelle Taylor has worked on the Forensic brand since 2016. Well established in the industry, Michelle has attended dozens of scientific conferences and conducted interviews with key opinion leaders, including multiple Nobel Prize winners and award-winning forensic scientists. Michelle enjoys writing about investigative forensic genetic genealogy, novel psychoactive substances, next-generation sequencing, sexual assault kits and more. Michelle received her BA in journalism from Elon University in North Carolina. Michelle can be reached at [email protected] Michelle can be reached at [email protected]

2021’s Best Master’s in Forensic Science Programs
April 23, 2021
Based on an assessment of the top 171 accredited colleges and universities in the nation, Intelligent.com has released a ranking of the top 38 master’s in forensic science degree programs for 2021. read more
Physics Shows How Close-range Shooter had No Bloodstains on Clothes
April 21, 2021
Inspired by the real-life murder of actress Lana Clarkson, researchers employed physics-based modeling to better understand the analysis of blood backspatter in gunshot wounds. read more
Florida: It’s a Felony to Handle Someone Else’s DNA
April 14, 2021
The continually evolving technology behind DNA testing—combined with decreasing costs—has forced states to consider the genetic code of citizens inside House and Senate chambers much more often than in previous decades. read more
Michigan Governor Establishes Forensic Science Task Force
April 12, 2021
Saying the “misapplication of forensic science is the second most common contributing factor in wrongful convictions in the United States,” Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has established a task force to strengthen the use of forensic science in her state. read more
Update: ANAB Suspends DC Crime Lab’s Accreditation
April 05, 2021
After an audit last week recommended the Firearms Examination Unit at the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences immediately cease casework, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) temporarily suspended the lab’s accreditation as of April 2, 2021. read more
DC Forensic Lab Under Investigation Regarding Ballistics Casework
March 31, 2021
The Firearms Examination Unit at the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences should immediately cease casework and a comprehensive evaluation of the competence of all current examiners should be performed, according to an audit. read more
First-in-the-nation Bill Targets Forensic Genetic Genealogy
March 29, 2021
In the 2+ years since the first bill proposal, Sydnor and Shetty worked with stakeholders in the forensic genetic genealogy industry to re-author a version that would allow law enforcement to do its job while also protecting the public’s constitutional privacy. read more
Researchers Find Oldest Documented Site of Indiscriminate Mass Killing
March 24, 2021
Anthropologists report they have found the oldest documented site of a mass killing in what is now Croatia. Findings from the 6,200-year-old massacre were published in PLOS ONE earlier this month. read more
Cold Case Program Partners Students with State Police to Investigate Murders
March 22, 2021
In an unprecedented partnership, undergraduate criminal justice students at Western Michigan University will receive access to and work on case files from unsolved murders in southwest Michigan. read more
A Physics-based Approach to Blood at the Crime Scene
March 17, 2021
Understanding the dynamics of how blood droplets fall on and through different materials can help crime scene units investigate a scene and generate a better picture of said scene for investigators and forensic scientists. read more
Keeping DNA the Gold Standard in the Search for Truth
March 10, 2021
Forensic scientists play a critical role in our criminal justice system. The stakes aren’t just missing a deadline, rather, it comes down to life and death. The takeaways from these described cases highlight critical lessons on the accuracy of forensic DNA analysis. read more
In Search of a Silver Bullet for a Unified Forensic Science System
March 08, 2021
As a forensic scientist, how many times have you been frustrated by evidence collected from a crime scene? Be it why or how a sample was collected, decisions made at the crime scene—without a forensic scientist present—are irreversible and end up altering the course of the case. read more
Slowly but Surely: Taking Genetic Genealogy to the Next Level
March 01, 2021
Colleen Fitzpatrick is the pioneer of forensic genetic genealogy (FGG), so it would only make sense for her to usher it into the next era—a step, she says, that moves FGG from the “OMG era” to the “investigative intelligence era.” read more
Corey Pickett Case Puts New Jersey Courts and TrueAllele Head-to-Head
February 24, 2021
After a successful appeal by the defendant, state attorneys have filed a motion to reconsider the use and evaluation of probabilistic genotyping software TrueAllele in the case of Corey Pickett, a man charged with murder in New Jersey. read more
Exchanged Needles Reveal Opioid, NPS Trends
February 19, 2021
Needle-exchange programs in cities can provide vital information about intravenous (IV) drug use, as well as more comprehensive opioid monitoring and real-time surveillance of emerging trends and novel psychoactive substances (NPS), according to the preliminary results of such a program in D.C. read more
NamUs May Get a New Managing Entity in April
February 17, 2021
In December 2020, the National Institute of Justice put out a request for proposals to manage NamUs. The acceptance period has now ended and today, NIJ said they expect to award a new contract for services by April. read more
Australian Police Debut Familial DNA Collection Pilot Program
February 10, 2021
This week, the New South Wales Police Force launched a DNA collection pilot program in the hopes of finding answers to the 769 long-term missing persons cases plaguing the region. According to the agency, NSW has approximately 330 unidentified bodies or human remains cases. read more
Kansas Bill Would Require All Sexual Assault Kits to be Submitted for Testing
February 08, 2021
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has taken their commitment to testing to the next level, introducing legislation that will require Kansas law enforcement agencies submit all sexual assault kits for forensic analysis. read more
Austin Officially Separates Forensic Lab from Police Department
February 05, 2021
In a move long anticipated, the Austin City Council voted Thursday to officially transfer the forensic laboratory out from under police control, turning it into an independent entity. read more
Use of ‘Zombie Drug’ Increasing, Now Linked to 1 in 3 Overdoses in Philly
February 03, 2021
Philadelphia has a “zombie drug” problem, and experts are concerned it is going to start rapidly spreading to other parts of the U.S.—just as the drug infiltrated the City of Brotherly Love from Puerto Rico about 5 years ago. read more