With today’s technology, forensic science is undergoing a transformation by using new techniques, such as DNA phenotyping and virtual autopsies. Read on to find out how these new methodologies are being used to solve crimes that may have previously gone unsolved.
Simply stated, forensic science is the application of science to law (both civil and criminal). Because of popular television shows, most people are familiar with forensic science as it applies to solving crimes, as it can be the difference between proving guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. Some accepted forensic science techniques include fingerprint analysis, toxicology, ballistics, DNA, and blood splatter analysis.
Today’s technology helps to expand the capabilities of forensic science as we have known it. Two upcoming technologies are Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP) and virtual autopsies. FDP allows criminalists the ability to determine more than a regular DNA profile. FDP can identify all kinds of things from a single sample, including gender, hair color, eye color, skin color, age, and height (all of which are referred to as phenotype characteristics) with 70% accuracy.
With virtual autopsies, forensic scientists can use technology to help recreate a crime scene, a timeline, and how any injuries may have happened. Professor and Chair of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich and co-founder of the Virtopsy Project, Michael Thali says, “This technology scans a dead body and the crime scene in 3D to provide a 3D reconstruction – the results of which are then stored. Doing a physical autopsy destroys anything that might have been 3D so the idea is to do the scan first. We can use that data along with other elements like DNA or blood spatters to reconstruct what we think might have happened.”
Daéid adds, “The virtual autopsy is used to provide very high-resolution CT and/or MRI scanning to provide a 3D representation of a body. It also allows for event sequencing as to how an injury came about. The data can be stored, which means that significant inroads can be made at looking at injuries retrospectively – unlike a physical body, the results of a 3D autopsy are always available to provide new insight.”
Technological gains in forensic science which adheres to acceptable legal standards are an ongoing challenge, but they are vital to the field. Technology helps forensic science keep pace and advance as our data-driven world also continues to advance.
Image: DNA research forensic science.. Image courtesy of Mikkolem