GITAD: 20 Years of Experience in Quality Testing
In his presentation during the GCLAITH meeting during ISHI 31, Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos Alvarez (Laboratorio de Identificación Genética – Universidad de Granada) discussed the 20 years of accumulated experience that the interlaboratory exercise carried out by the Ibero-American Group of Work in DNA Analysis (GITAD) in most of the Latin American countries, Spain, and […]
The Missing Piece: A New Video Series Focusing on the People Behind Forensic Genetic Genealogy Successes
Carla Walker. Christine Jessop. Siobhan McGuinness. For years, these victims were listed on cold case files in law enforcement evidence boxes. While never forgotten, limitations in forensic science prevented their cases from being closed. Families waited decades for answers and justice while their killers remained unidentified. To generate leads in criminal cases investigators […]
Using LIMS Technology (Laboratory information management system) to Obtain High Quality Nucleic Acid Samples
Latin America today is one of the centers of the global health crisis caused by COVID-19, and Brazil is considered the epicenter of the pandemic in Latin America. As of July, 1,545,458 cases and 63,295 deaths have been reported. Despite the large number of cases, only 15,668 tests for COVID- 19 have been performed per […]
Maximizing DNA Yield from Fired Cartridge Casings
Crimes involving guns have become increasingly prevalent in our society and investigative techniques for solving these crimes have been limited due to several factors. One factor is that the evidence left behind is commonly comprised of spent cartridge casings or stray bullets. These items are typically analyzed with firearms comparisons since DNA analysis has not […]
Investigative Genetic Genealogy and Criminalistics – What is the Future?
Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) has been amazing in solving both cold and recent cases and for exonerating the innocent. Each day, another once-thought-to-be-intractable case is solved using this new-to-forensics means of human identification. We live in exciting times for forensic identification! Despite, or because of, this success, the use of genetic genealogical data for forensic […]
Determining the Size of the D18S51 Long Alleles Observed in the Costa Rican Population using Commercial Genotyping Kits with STRs
As previously reported, the Costa Rican population exhibits long alleles (not included in commercial allelic ladders) at the STR D18S51 locus, ranging from 28 to 40 Repetitions. These alleles were described using the PowerPlex®16 and AmpFLSTR™ Identifiler™. With the arrival of new commercial kits, it is necessary to identify these long alleles in D18S51 […]
Loveless Lost: The Case of the Oldest Doe Identified Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy
In the summer of 1979, a family was searching for artifacts in Buffalo Cave, a dark lava tube outside of the small and remote town of Dubois, Idaho. Approximately 200 feet from the opening of the cave, the family discovered a burlap sack containing a mummified, clothed, and dismembered headless torso. The Clark County Sheriff’s […]
Root-Cause Analysis: An Essential Step in the Management of Nonconformity
Considering that an Integrated Quality Management System is prone to continuous improvement, the occurrence of non-conformities within processes evaluated by external or internal authorities is inevitable. Therefore, the treatment of non-conformities should be carried out with objectivity and relevance and analyzing these causes and focusing on the root cause is critical. Only when the root […]
Rapid DNA Identification: Conception Boat Fire
In the early morning hours of September 2, 2019, a fire started in Santa Barbara County, just off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, on the Conception Dive boat with 39 passengers and crew on board. Five crew members were rescued and the remaining crew member and passengers located below deck when the fire started […]
