Auckland University PhD student Claire French has recently discovered a new forensics technique that could potentially help solve sex crimes. What she discovered was a method of identifying whether cell samples collected for DNA testing come from the skin, the mouth or the vagina. Currently, DNA from such cells found at a crime scene can link a person to the crime but cannot provide evidence about which part of the body the cells came from. The technique, involves staining epithelial cells to reveal different colours, providing an indicator of the cells' origins. Police national forensic services adviser, Inspector John Walker, commented on her discovery calling it groundbreaking, "It's not uncommon in a case of sexual violation to have a situation where the prosecution alleges one set of circumstances and the defence another. Being able to isolate exactly where the body fluids found have come from will remove doubt."
Claire was recently named the 2006 MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year, New Zealand's top award for emerging scientists. Her research has already been presented at international conferences in Hong Kong and Australia and she is due to present her findings to leading forensic scientists at the influential European Academy of Forensic Sciences conference in Helsinki next week. Miss French hopes her research will be developed into a commercial kit used routinely at crime scenes and forensic laboratories. Her win entitles her to a trip to the UK in September to attend the British Association's annual Science Festival, which draws 400 of the world's top scientists and science communicators. She also receives the gold MacDiarmid medal. She has a year left in her doctorate in anatomy, and hopes to continue in the field of forensic science
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