This Week in Forensic Science

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November 10, 2017
3:57 pm

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!

Postmortem Intervals for Skeletal Remains: DOJ-Funded Research Seeks Quantitative Method for Precise Estimates (Forensic Magazine – 11/3/2017)

A team from Lincoln Memorial University, led by associate professor of anatomy Beatrix Dudzik, hopes to develop better methods by looking for biomarkers in bone marrow, which can survive for long periods of time after death along with the lipids it contains, and estimate PMI by looking at the degradation of those lipids.

Y-Chromosome Profiles a Good Lead, but Not Definitive Identifier: Study (Forensic Magazine – 11/6/2017)

Y profiles should be used in criminal investigation and in prosecutions—but need to be presented with particular caution in front of juries—according to a new study focusing on the use of the genetic profiles published in the online journal PLoS Genetics.

What Happens When You Put 500,000 People’s DNA Online (The Atlantic – 11/6/2017)

Huge genetic databases are changing how scientists study disease.

University of Tennessee Forensic Program Introduces New Bloodstain Analysis Houses (Forensic Magazine – 11/7/2017)

The National Forensic Academy (NFA), a program of The University of Tennessee (UT) Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC), reached another milestone in October 2017 with the introduction of two customized Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) houses.

Using GIS to Find Hidden Graves Based on Killers’ Preferences (Forensic Magazine – 11/7/2017)

Now an Italian team has refined a method of incorporating yet more desired factors into a GIS system, which could narrow searches further based on whether graves were dug during the day or at night—and find the most crucial evidence of all in homicides, they report in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

It’s Possible For One Person to Have Two Different Sets of DNA – Here’s How It Happens (Insider – 11/7/2017)

Even wilder: Human chimeras aren’t the result of futuristic genetic tinkering. They can occur naturally, and some people don’t even know that they’ve doubled up on DNA.
Here’s a quick guide to the ways a person can become a human chimera.

Get Real, Handling Crime Evidence Not So Perfect Like on TV (Today – 11/10/2017)

The work of forensic experts in Singapore was showcased to the media and invited guests on Thursday (Nov 9) during the Criminal Investigation Department Forensic Conference at the Police Cantonment Complex. This was to mark the 40th anniversary of the Forensics Division, which includes the Forensics Management Branch.

This Week in Forensic Science

Postmortem Intervals for Skeletal Remains: DOJ-Funded Research Seeks Quantitative Method for Precise Estimates (Forensic Magazine – 11/3/2017)

Y-Chromosome Profiles a Good Lead, but Not Definitive Identifier: Study (Forensic Magazine – 11/6/2017)

What Happens When You Put 500,000 People’s DNA Online (The Atlantic – 11/6/2017)

University of Tennessee Forensic Program Introduces New Bloodstain Analysis Houses (Forensic Magazine – 11/7/2017)

Using GIS to Find Hidden Graves Based on Killers’ Preferences (Forensic Magazine – 11/7/2017)

It’s Possible For One Person to Have Two Different Sets of DNA – Here’s How It Happens (Insider – 11/7/2017)

Get Real, Handling Crime Evidence Not So Perfect Like on TV (Today – 11/10/2017)

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