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!
CSI Effect is a Myth: Forensic Detective Series Do Not Make Criminals Better at Crime (The Telegraph – 1/5/2018)
- A team of psychologists at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, trawled police databases, interviewed criminals and carried out crime-scene experiments and concluded the ‘CSI Effect’ is simply a myth.
More Pressure, More Touch DNA, Study Says (Forensic Magazine – 1/8/2018)
- The pressure applied from skin onto a surface is a major driver of how much trace evidence crime scene technicians may find at a scene, according to a recent paper by the University College London in the journalForensic Science International.
Rhinoceros DNA Database Successful in Aiding Poaching Prosecutions (The Guardian – 1/8/2018)
- Statistical study shows how powerful RhODIS database is in linking forensic evidence to particular animals, say researchers
Cops Crack Infamous Prospect Park Rape Case with DNA (New York Post – 1/9/2018)
After running new DNA tests, police have identified the man who attacked the then-27-year-old Yale graduate in Prospect Park, linking the heinous crime to James Edward Webb, 68, a serial rapist who is serving 75 years to life at Sing Sing, sources told The Post Tuesday.
Har Gobind Khorana Deciphered DNA and Wrote the Dictionary for our Genetic Language (The Vox – 1/9/2018)
Tuesday’s Google Doodle honors the pioneering biochemist and Nobel Laureate.
‘A Natural Step’: RCMP Looks to 3D Printing as Part of New Wave of Crime-Solving Technology (National Post – 1/9/2018)
The B.C. RCMP has issued a government tender for its very own 3D printer, with the aim of building models of vehicle accidents for use in court
Sleuth Who Can Crack a Murder with Blood Taken from Mosquitoes (The Asahi Shimbun – 1/11/2018)
- His research, which earned him a doctorate in medicine from Nagoya University, showed that human blood extracted from mosquitoes remains viable for DNA analysis for up to two days after a bite, enabling researchers to roughly determine when the mosquito made contact.
Criminologists Find That Homicide Increases Follow Predictable Fluctuations Over Past 55 Years (Forensic Magazine – 1/11/2018)
- Recent spikes in homicide rates across the nation have been attributed to causes ranging from civil unrest to the opioid epidemic, but new UT Dallas research published in the journal Homicide Studies found a much simpler explanation: The increases follow predictable fluctuations in rates over the past 55 years.
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