Under the Microscope – Julie Conover Sikorsky
In August of 2020 the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Biology Unit (FBU) went on- line with a Rapid DNA program. Their goals were three-fold: 1) incorporate this technology into their regular casework cadence; 2) establish a Rapid DNA infrastructure within their service area; and 3) develop a plan to mobilize this technology should […]
Under the Microscope – Abigail Bathrick
Direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method in which a swab or substrate punch is added to an amplification reaction without prior extraction or quantification and has been shown to improve DNA profiles from some types of low-yield DNA evidence samples. Direct PCR maximizes the amount of DNA template in a reaction by eliminating […]
Under the Microscope – Nicole Richetelli
DNAmix 2021 is a rigorous, large-scale study conducted to evaluate the extent of consistency and variation among forensic laboratories in interpretations and statistical analyses of DNA mixtures, and to assess the effects of various potential sources of variability. To this end, this study utilized a four-phased approach: Policies and Procedures (P&P) Questionnaire — Online […]
Identifying Missing Persons at the Center for Human Identification
The Missing Persons Unit under the Center of Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTCHI) specializes in the DNA analysis and identification of missing persons cases and processes more than 50% of the unidentified human remains of the missing persons cases in the US. Jianye Ge, discusses software that […]
Under the Microscope – Sylvain Hubac
On February 24th, 2022, Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, launched a special military operation leading to the invasion of Ukraine in the direction of the capital, Kyiv. By the end of February, Russian forces have taken the city of Bucha located in the suburbs of Kyiv and occupied the field for a month. […]
Under the Microscope – Cheryl Carreiro and Sevasti Papakanakis
The CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) Division of Scientific Services (DSS) Forensic Laboratory has successfully established a Rapid DNA Law Enforcement program for crime scene samples. Rapid DNA technology delivers lab-quality DNA profiles and database matches in ninety (90) minutes, as opposed to weeks or months when submitted to the laboratory […]
Meet ISHI Exhibitors: Parabon NanoLabs
Travis sits down with CeCe Moore, Chief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs. They discuss her first speaking engagement at ISHI in 2014 when she introduced the power of genetic genealogy to a law enforcement audience. CeCe shares how the partnership was formed with Parabon NanoLabs and the number of successes they’ve had on previously […]
Under the Microscope – Nathan Scudder
Forensic/Investigative Genetic Genealogy (F/IGG) offers a powerful yet evolving capability for human identification, with its use by law enforcement having far-reaching implications for the criminal justice system internationally. While forensic genetics and law enforcement intelligence/investigations have developed their own best practice guidelines and, in some cases, standards and oversight, these still have to be developed […]
Under the Microscope – Tim Kalafut
In his presentation at ISHI 33 this year, Tim Kalafut will describe an interlaboratory DNA interpretation experiment using data from eight forensic biology laboratories and the probabilistic genotyping system STRmix™. Each laboratory contributed twenty mixtures of two to four contributors from their validation studies along with their STRmix™ parameters including STRmix™ kit files and stutters. […]
