Forensic News Blog

This blog was originally created in 2006 as a way for participating forensic scientists to post links to interesting stories about forensic ...

by jnr DNA analysis can either be a sharp sword for prosecuting attorneys or a strong shield for the accused, but can it be relied upon too ...

by blogger ic It's already difficult to obtain good fingerprints at a crime scene. In most cases, mostly partials will be found. In ca...

by blogger cfl As you may know, your skin has "normal flora" bacteria living on it. This bacteria is beneficial to your health, bu...

by blogger gbq An Illinois law now requires police to test all rape kits since the state has a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits. T...

by blogger JAW Today's phones, such as the iPhone contain a plethora of information about individuals and their activities. For crimina...

by blogger klv Typically, forensic scientists have used the pelvic bone to determine the sex of skeletal remains. Though widely accepted, t...

by blogger jrb Brian Krebs broke this story concerning the theft of $996,000 from UVA Wise using a fraudulent wire transfer. The hackers we...

by arg A serial killer nicknamed the "Grim Sleeper" was caught after a familial DNA search was completed, but now there is controv...

by bma A morgue in Arizona grows crowded with bodies of those who have attempted to cross hundreds of mile of desert during the hot summer m...

by blogger cbt By using the MALDI-MSI technique, we can now get new details of the suspect that will help solve cases just from a fingerprin...

by kec A new test is being developed to compare DNA from people arrested for crimes to DNA from crime scenes that are stored in databases. ...

by kjt Just when the Green River Killer thought he could get away, DNA saved the day. "COLD CASE: CLOSED" In the 1980s and 1990s,...

by blogger kjs Scalpels. Bone saws. Lots and lots of gloves. Those are the tools of the trade when you are an average medical examiner. It...

by blogger jel Next month, the State of Alabama, in a joint effort with Gary Warner at UAB, will receive $3 million in federal funds to purs...

by blogger orf It is now common knowledge that the general American public has an obsession with forensic-based shows. CSI has been one of ...

by blogger nls In 2009, the largest dog-fighting raid in US history occurred. This raid resulted in 26 arrests and involved over 400 dogs ...

by SAM Just to think, if DNA advancements were never made this case would have never gotten any closure. A case that was over 20 years old...

by blogger kbs Apparently if you are a perfectionist that is never happy with anything but positive test results you belong at the North Car...

by blogger sjk The controversial genetic analysis procedure called "familial searching" or "kinship searching" recently ...

by blogger hcn UPDATE: I'm re-posting this. For those of you wondering, I think the linked to news story is the reason for the asinine...

by blogger jgl The NRC report on forensic science is now available for free. Previously, I think there was a charge to access the full repo...

found by troym; comments by blogger jgl Does anyone know how these contracts will work? Will these companies be hiring scientists to comple...

by blogger SLC Various locations and people throughout the United Kingdom, from simple mosques to the prime minister, have recently received...

by blogger msb In Seattle, a convicted killer escaped during an annual field trip. Phillip Arnold Paul was one of 30 mental patients from E...

by blogger ADD Texas is on the verge of admitting that it executed an innocent man. The man in question was tried and convicted on faulty f...

by blogger jmj A forgery and theft case in Pierce County, Washington was solved with the use of facial recognition software being pilot test...

by blogger mem We all know that the police often use cadaver dogs to locate potential dead bodies, but did you know that they also use dogs ...

by blogger gmp Several states have passed laws over the past few years mandating individuals arrested for a felony must submit a DNA sample....

by jnr Researchers at the University of Leicester are investigating a technique that may improve the visualization of fingerprints on metal ...

by blogger bcs According to a new study, bitemark evidence and analysis should be viewed with caution. In the past, the individuality of bit...

by blogger dab What if harsh interrogations were not necessary and even less effective to bringing out the truth from potential suspec...

by blogger kjt See, you really can have fun at work! The field of forensics is continually advancing technologically and with the introducti...

by CFL As of now, police dogs are specially trained to find dead bodies by the lovely fragrance of decay. However, this may all change, bec...

by blogger sjk This is it folks! The first step has been taken towards engineering drug-free cannabis plants. That's what I said, drug...

by blogger klv Fingerprints can reveal identity, but what else can be found? A research team at Purdue has developed a method to determine c...

by blogger aaa Studies show that DNA can be fabricated and placed at crime scenes. It was reported that the procedure is so easy that under...

by blogger kjs We've all seen those forensic shows: scientists putting things in tubes, extracting DNA from blood or semen and then runn...

by blogger ic So, earlier this month there was a sad case of the missing Yale student, Annie Le, who was supposed to get married in days. D...

by blogger hcn I recently saw a series of segments on a news show questioning forensic science. After examining several areas of forensic s...

by blogger orf There have been many complaints recently about the reliability of forensic science. In February, the National Academy of Sci...

by csc There are many ways to identify a person, including: dental records, DNA, and fingerprints. A not so new, but now highly publicized w...

by blogger cnt We've all seen CSI . Investigators find a fingerprint at a crime scene, scan it into the computer and seconds later, voi...

by blogger team UAB DB Uh oh...undetectable blood? Not good for forensic examiners. And why do we continue to help out criminals through the...

by blogger jgl The Bring Your Own Slides session is often a highlight of the AAFS annual meeting. This year was no exception. The BYOS ses...

by blogger jgl Pictures later. I forgot the camera cable, although i noticed a radio shack on the 16th street mall. I arrived at the Americ...