Beyond Genetic Genealogy: Building Family Trees to Investigate Crime
“Class! Class!” Diahan Southard raises her voice and claps twice, cutting through the buzz of conversation that fills the room. Dutifully, her class responds. “Yes! Yes!” It’s a technique that Southard has learned from her experience with raising three children and over 20 years of teaching. Her audience is broken up into small […]
Crime Scene Culture: How Inadvertent Collection of Bacteria Affects DNA Profiling Success
The role of a forensic scientist is challenging. Most of us get into this field because of our desire to have a positive impact, make the world safer, and fight crime through science. We utilize scientific data to help law enforcement identify criminals, exonerate the innocent, and assist in helping to bring closure to victims […]
This Week in Forensic Science
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! Early DNA Lineages Shed Light on the Diverse Origins of the […]
No Nuclear DNA in Rootless Hair: Myth or Fact?
Hair shafts, particularly rootless ones (telogen hair), are common exhibits found in crime scenes. They can be deposited either normally due to shedding or by force due to hair plucking. Based on the American Academy of Dermatology, the normal rate of shed hair per day is 50 to100 strands [1]. However due to the structure […]
Fall Edition of The ISHI Report Now Live
The Fall edition of The ISHI Report is now live! We hope that many of you were able to participate in the 30th International Symposium on Human Identification that took place in Palm Springs. This issue includes features and interviews with several speakers and attendees from the just completed conference. A very […]
This Week in Forensic Science
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! We May Be Entering a New Era for Using Consumer Genetic […]
DNA-Touch™ – Synthetic Fingermarks for Genomic Research
Variability in the amount of DNA deposited by individuals when touching a surface poses a significant hurdle to the evaluation of forensic analysis methods for touch samples. No two human latent fingerprint samples are the same due to the “shedder” status of different individuals as well as other factors including hand washing or deposition conditions. […]
Molecular Dissection of a Crime Scene: Introducing STR Sequencing in Routine Investigation
I currently work as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). My ongoing research concerns the application of NGS in the routine forensic work. Written by: Marta Diepenbroek, Institute of Legal Medicine I started to work in forensics in 2012 and I was very […]
This Week in Forensic Science
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! Serial Killer Peter Tobin Caught by Brave Forensic Expert Who Went […]
