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!
Internet Sleuths, DNA Link John Doe to Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe New Mexican – 3/31/2018)
A mysterious suicide at a Washington state hotel.
An army of internet sleuths, working to identify the unknown man.
And now, a possible connection to New Mexico.
Buza Decision: California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Arrestee DNA Collection (Forensic Magazine – 4/2/2018)
- Suspects arrested for felonies in California are subject to DNA collection as part of standard police booking procedures, the California Supreme Court ruled this afternoon.
The F.B.I. and the Mystery of the Mummy’s Head (The New York Times – 4/2/2018)
- A museum wasn’t sure whose head it had put on display. That’s when the F.B.I.’s forensic scientists were called in to crack the agency’s oldest case.
Estonia Wants to DNA Test Its Citizens to Offer Personalized Life Advice (Gizmodo – 4/2/2018)
This month, the Estonian government kicks off a program that aims to collect the DNA of 100,000 of its 1.3 million residents. In return, it will offer them lifestyle and health advice based on their genetics. Estonia will be the first nation to offer state-sponsored DNA interpretations to its citizens.
DNA Tests for IQ Are Coming, But it Might Not Be Smart to Take One (Technology Review – 4/2/2018)
Scientists have linked hundreds of genes to intelligence. One psychologist says it’s time to test school kids.
New DNA Evidence and Original Witness Testimony Questions 2002 Dice-Game Murderer’s Conviction (ABC News – 4/2/2018)
- A Chicago man who’s already served 15 years in prison for allegedly gunning down a man playing craps on a school playground is attempting to get his conviction reversed.
His attorneys claim that new, independent DNA evidence and witness testimony at trial suggest that he didn’t do it.
Forensic Laboratory Delayed Indefinitely Over Lack of Tenders (The Irish Times – 4/3/2018)
- Minister says no developer wants to take on the €60m construction, as currently envisaged
I Was Raped in 1993 – And No One Tested My Rape Kit for 10 Years (New York Post – 4/4/2018)
Now, Alexenko is fighting so that other survivors can have the chance to get closure regarding their cases. In 2011, she founded Natasha’s Justice Project, a nonprofit. The goal: to get rid of rape-kit backlogs in every state and implement a method to process all new kits within 30 days.
This Forensic Science Expert Has Testified in Some Notorious Cases (The Boston Globe – 4/4/2018)
- As director of Boston University’s biomedical forensic sciences program, she teaches her students to be unequivocally ethical, and exacting when it comes to protocol. “Forensic means the application of science to the law. Your science has to be good, and your ability to testify has to be good. If only one of these works, that’s a breakdown of the system,” says Cotton, who has been working in the field for more than three decades.
Louisiana Senators Back More DNA Testing Kit Transparency (U.S. News & World Report – 4/5/2018)
Louisiana senators want companies selling DNA testing kits to notify consumers that people using those kits lose control over genetic material they submit.
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