New forensic science will identify Brazil's "disappeared"

Collaboration between forensic scientists from Sheffield and Brazil using a new DNA extraction technique has identified two homicide victims whose skeletonised bodies were found dumped in sugar cane plantations near S'£o Paulo in the late 1990s. The same technique is now to aid the task of identifying the remains of hundreds of victims of Brazil's former military governments.
Dr Marco Guimar'£es from the University of S'£o Paulo (Faculty of Medicine Ribeir'£o Preto) has been working with Dr Martin Evison of the Academic Unit of Forensic Pathology at the University of Sheffield on methods of DNA recovery from forensic and ancient skeletons.

Dr Evison explained, "DNA recovery from the skeleton is a very difficult technique, especially when the material originates from a climate as extreme as Brazil's. Usually there's hardly any DNA left, and what there is is extremely difficult to recover. In these cases we've been using a DNA extraction technique that I originally developed in Sheffield to analyse ancient DNA from archaeological skeletons.

"We're also applying a 'third generation' DNA profiling method, which is theoretically able to distinguish a single individual in the entire population of the planet."

The scientists are now turning their attention to older forensic cases: those of the desaparecidos-or disappeared-from the periods of military government in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. As a result of their preliminary research, a skeleton recovered from a clandestine cemetery discovered on the outskirts of S'£o Paulo city in 1990 is believed to be that of an individual last seen alive in 1972.

When he returns to Brazil, Dr Guimar'£es will be sharing the techniques he has developed in Sheffield with forensic pathologist Dr Daniel Mu'oz, appointed by the State of S'£o Paulo to oversee identification of a further twelve hundred skeletonised bodies recovered from the same clandestine cemetery.

The collaboration is one of the first fruits of a new University of Sheffield initiative to promote wider collaborative research in human identification science and to support the investigation of human rights abuses. Experts in forensic science, chemistry and molecular biology at the University are working with colleagues from other universities to develop sophisticated new human identification techniques and technologies and make them available worldwide for use in cases similar to the Brazilian investigation.

Threats And Responses: Documents;Forensic experts uncovered forgery on Iraq, an Inspector says

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that the forgery in a document intended to show Iraq trying to buy uranium from Niger was discovered by forensic experts. The agency's director said the experts found anomalies in the signatures, the letterhead and the format of the document. The forgery had been compared with authentic documents provided by Niger. The agency's director said that any number of groups would have had an interest in planting the document, which he said came from several sources.

Criminals Who Eat Processed Foods More Likely To Be Discovered, Through Fingerprint Sweat Corroding Metal

Dr John Bond, a researcher at the University of Leicester and scientific support officer at Northamptonshire Police, said processed food fans are more likely to leave tell-tale signs at a crime scene.Dr Bond, from Northamptonshire Police Scientific Support Unit is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leicester’s Forensic Research Centre. He has developed a method that enables scientists to ‘visualise fingerprints’ even after the print itself has been removed.Dr Bond said: “On the basis that processed foods tend to be high in salt as a preservative, the body needs to excrete excess salt which comes out as sweat through the pores in our fingers. Dr Bond added there was therefore an indirect link therefore between obesity and the chances of being caught of a crime. “Other research has drawn links between processed foods and obesity and we know that consumers of processed foods will leave better fingerprints,” he said. I found that this article was very interesting because i did not know that what a perosn eats affects their discovery in a crime.

'Environmental Forensics' Could Cut The Cost Of Brownfield Development

Environmental Forensics is an emerging scientific field, which could help investigators prove who is responsible for pollution. It could specifically help develop contaminated brownfield sites, which are abandoned industrial facilities available for re-use. Environmental forensics will determine who caused the incidence of pollution, as many brownfield sites usually have chemically contaminated soil or groundwater. Those found responsible for the pollution will then have to pay to clean the area up. Environmental forensics focuses on how and when the contamination occurred, the impact of the pollution, and whether an incident has been illegally covered up. The integration of forensic science will help guide the investigations, and make the legal proceedings faster. Professor Kalin stated, “Environmental forensics aims to offer an authoritative, effective and efficient way of proving or disproving liability for pollution,” says Professor Kalin. “It could reduce the scope for argument, minimise legal hold-ups, cut the length of court cases and so speed up brownfield development in future.” This field could even help the redevelopment of the site for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

"Vitreous Humor in the Eye Helps to Establish Time of Death

Just recently, a team of researchers from the University of Santiago Compostela has discovered that by analyzing several substances from the vitreous humour, forensic scientists can calculate the approximate time of death. Located in the eye, the vitreous humour contains potassium, urea, and hypoxantine concentrations. By analyzing these substances digitally through a specific computer software program, the post mortem interval is revealed and scientists can then determine the estimation of a corpses' time of death. By inserting each concentration of the three substances in, addition to the cause of death, into the software program, results are displayed graphically on the computer screen allowing scientists to draw up a quick and accurate estimation of the time of death.  This new method supplies forensic pathologists with a new quick and easy tool to use upon drawing up their estimations and will thereby prove beneficial to court systems and police personnel in solving complex criminal investigations.

What The Eyes Can Tell Us About The Time Of Death

A team of researchers from the team of Santiago de Compostela has discovered an interesting new way to establish Time Of Death. Their discovery is based on the analysis of several substances from the vitreous humour of the eye (which is the gelatinous liquid that is found behind the lens of the eye), and they have developed a piece of software that does the analysis, which makes it possible to establish precisely the time of death. The information will make the work of the police and the courts a lot easier.
To apply this technique, the researchers analyze potassium, urea and hypoxantine (a DNA metabolite) concentrations present in the vitreous humour of the eye of the human cadaver, and introduce these figures into a computer program. The software uses this information and is capable of establishing the time at which death occurred.

Hair-raising forensic breakthrough hailed

Scientists are developing ways to search for clues from radioactive elements in bones and hair that can help police solve crimes. A method of determining when murder victims were killed by analysing radioactive isotopes in their bones is already being used by police forces. The same researchers who developed that technique are now investigating ways of checking isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in hair that can indicate where a person has been living. Water in different regions of the world produces subtly different isotopic signatures. By checking suspects' hair it may be possible in future for police to determine whether they have been honest about their whereabouts. The scientists' work suggests that a bald-headed individual with no body hair might in future be regarded as a suspicious character. Until now, establishing when murder victims have died from their decomposed remains has proved surprisingly difficult. "There are lots of different methods ranging from visual appearance right the way through to looking at insects and larvae," said Black, a professor from the University of Reading and one of the scientists developing the technique. The problem with those methods is that they are very temperature dependent, whereas the isotopic method is unaffected by temperature. Professor Black's team has now embarked on long term studies asking people about their diets and analysing the isotopic content of their hair. The results are expected in the next year or two.

New Forensic Course At North-Eastern University - Greg Hopwood -

North-Eastern University will begin its new course that will train detectives using methods popularised through tv shows such as CSI Miami. Undergraduates will be taught how to use criminology, forensic psychology, chemistry, pharmacology and computing to help solve crimes. The four year degree will result with professionals with knowledge of the advanced technologies used by modern police forces. Students will use case studies and be challenged to use modern techniques, such as artificial intelligence, to analyse forensic scene of crime data. They will be given the chance to put this knowledge to the test when they are possibly to be placed with jobs at Northumbria and West Midlands Police forces, the Harperley Hall Police training centre for Scene of Crime Officers, and at local organizations such as the Northumbria Coalition Against Crime. This program is being headed by Dr Giles Oatley, a senior lecturer at the university's artificial intelligence lab, the Centre for Adaptive Systems. He says: "The Home Office is emphasizing the use of technology-based solutions in crime fighting. Forensic data analysis, artificial intelligence and high quality programming abilities are the skills that criminal investigations of the future will demand, and this degree course will provide students with the skills necessary for a very interesting and enriching career.
"The degree provides students with an understanding of criminology, different types of forensic data and analysis techniques - just like the techniques used on CSI Miami."
The BSc (Hons) Forensic Computing degree begins in September 2005 and is believed to aid North-Eastern in attracting even more applicants in the coming years.

http://www.brightsurf.com/search/r-a/Forensic_pathology/1/Forensic_pathology_news.html

New Field Of Research Could Help Police In Crime Scene Forensics

On September 1,2008 the Science Daily had an article titled New Field of Research Could Help Police In Crime Scene Forensics. The article reported on a breakthrough in DNA identification. Scientists from the Translational Genomics Research Institute, or TGen, have found a way to use high-density Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping microarrays to identify individual DNA from a sample of mixed DNA. Before, it was difficult for police to pick out specific DNA if it composed les than 10% of the sample. Now, they can pick out individual DNA from over 200 samples with this new technique, or if the specific DNA is less than .1%. As Dr. David W. Craig, the associate director of TGen’s Neurogenomics Division, explained, "By employing the powers of genomic technology, it is now possible to know with near certainty that a particular individual was at a particular location, even with only trace amounts of DNA and even if dozens or even hundreds of others were there, too.'' This will help police investigators to be more able to identify possible suspects at a crime scene.

Olivers Current Event

Scientists from the University of Illinois have created a new type of optical biosensors that can detect protein DNA interactions. The biosensors work for the identification of inhibitors of protein-nucleic acid and protein-protein interactions. These interactions are important for transcription, DNA damage repair, and apoptosis. These biosensors have a low refractive index polymer grating coated with a film of high refractive index titanium oxide. By examining light reflected from the photonic crystal, the scientists can tell when molecules are added to or removed from the crystal surface. The scientists have also expressed the possible ability to do experiments with protein-RNA interactions. The scientists also said that they have the ability to grow cancer cells on the photonic crystal surface.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080923121954.htm

Vitreous Humor In The Eye Helps To Establish Time Of Death

Researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela came up with a new method to estimate the approximate time of death. Its based on the vitreous humour of the eye of cadavers and, by using this system, scientists makes it possible ti establish the post mortem interval (PMI). This information makes it easier for the police and courts. Scientists analyze potassium, urea, and hypoxantine concentrations that are present in the vitreous humour of the ey and introuduce these things into a computer program. José Ignacio Munoz Barús, who was involved with the study, said that, "the equations we have developed now make it possible for us to estimate the PMI more precisely than before, and provide a useful and accessible tool to forensic pathologists that is easy to use." This new method is more flexible, useful and efficient than those applied in the past. The traditional techniques for estimating the PMI are based on the study of parameters such as the temperature of the organs.This new method offers an important contribution in the field of legal medicine, since determining the time of death has been an issue since the 19th century. 

DNA: Beyond Criminal Justice

Just as a jury can match DNA taken from a crime scene to a suspect’s DNA, scientists can compare strings of DNA to identify the origins of species and relationships among all organisms. Carroll, a professor of genetics and molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is a star in biology’s firmament. Before tackling Darwinism and its “survival of the fittest” credo, his earlier writings considered the role that genetic hierarchies play in determining why some organisms make it and others die off. This line of inquiry – the combined study of evolution and development – is known as “Evo-Devo,” and has been described as “the arrival of the fittest.”
There’s certainly a whole lot more DNA evidence now than in years past. The quest for the human genome and new science of genomics has explosively expanded DNA databases, which contain the raw code for the makings of all animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Through comparative DNA studies, says Carroll, scientists can peer back through the mists of time 600 or 700 million years to confirm that the process of natural selection drives diversity. DNA is a window into our ancient past.

Study Of Faulty Fingerprints Debunks Forensic Science 'Zero Error' Claim

Our textbook says that a fingerprint is an example of an individual characteristic, not a class characteristic; however, this is not necessarily the case. A study of faulty fingerprints debunks forensic science “zero error” claim. Recently, an innocent American was accused of being involved with the Madrid train bombing. The man was convicted of the crime based on fingerprint evidence, but later released because of an error. Now, criminologist, Simon Cole is investigating the errors that can occur in regards to fingerprint analysis. According to Cole, as many as a thousand incorrect fingerprint “matches” could be made each year in the United States, despite safeguards intended to prevent errors. Cole believes that the 22 exposed fingerprint errors, are just the “tip of the iceberg.” These errors were only discovered by coincidences, such as a post-conviction DNA test, the intervention of foreign police and even a deadly lab accident that led to the re-evaluation of evidence. Wrongful convictions on the basis of faulty evidence are supposed to be prevented by four safeguards: having print identifications “verified” by additional examiners; ensuring the examiners are competent; requiring a high number of matching points in the ridges before declaring the print a match; and having independent experts examine the prints on behalf of the defendant. Nevertheless, these safeguards have obviously failed in some cases. According to Cole, “Rather than blindly insisting there is zero error in fingerprint matching, we should acknowledge the obvious, study the errors openly and find constructive ways to prevent faulty evidence from being used to convict innocent people.” Through his studies Cole has found the aggregate error rate of fingerprint analysis to be 0.8 percent, which means 1,900 mistaken fingerprint matches made in one year.

Engineers Pioneer New Digital Forensics Technology

Engineers at the University of Maryland’s A James Clark school of engineering have just recently developed a powerful new digital fingerprinting technology in order to protect copyrighted materials from being stolen by “cyber criminals”. This is becoming increasingly important as more and more information is now stored digitally. Professor’s Min Wu and K.J. Ray Lui, have developed this technology that protects information from this new class of criminals. What this technology does, is for every user of the stolen media, a unique ID is attached to that individual, which can later be used to identify persons who contributed to the piracy attack. This ID performs much better than past methods, and it can be linked on audio, video, as well as special documents such as maps. Because of this practical application, theses digital fingerprints will be used by Hollywood movie producers, as well the department of homeland security, in order to trace the unauthorized distribution of sensitive information. In this case, the traitors can be traced through the use of Wu and Lui’s technology. This is a major forensics breakthrough especially as crimes adapt to the digital age that we live in today.

Traumatic events, PTSD, and psychiatric comorbidity in forensic patients – Assessed by Questionnaires and Diagnostic Interview

The present results emphasize, but also suggest further investigation of the consequences of early exposure to traumatic experiences: it remains to be investigated, how personality and PTSD relate to criminal behavior, ultimately leading to a forensic status. Many mental health workers and professionals acknowledge the severe mental disorder (including comorbid depression and anxiety) in forensic patients in treatment and rehabilitation. Early detection of traumatic experiences may be among the prerequisites to prevent the development of trauma-spectrum disorders and its behavioral and clinical consequences.

A New Breakthrough In Time Determination

A Norwegian Professor said that he had developed a device, which is a device that is able to determine the victim’s time of death. He claims that this device can determine the time of death more precisely than it has before. Professor Rognum says that before this device was designed, investigators would use decreasing body temperature and morphological changes in the body. Now, theis new handheld device-the Time Of Death Kit-investigators can increase the accuracy of time of death determination within 36 minutes. Before then, the closest investigators could come to was 90 minutes.
Professor Rognum also said that compared to the 24 hours using temperature sensitive devices, the new method can be used for a period of up to four days. The FBI and Scotland Yard will be testing the TOD (Time Of Death) device, says the Norway Times.

Trent's Current Event

The inventor of a revolutionary new forensic fingerprinting technique claims criminals who eat processed foods are more likely to be discovered by police through their fingerprint sweat corroding metal. Dr John Bond, a researcher at the University of Leicester and scientific support officer at Northamptonshire Police, said processed food fans are more likely to leave tell-tale signs at a crime scene. Dr Bond said: “On the basis that processed foods tend to be high in salt as a preservative, the body needs to excrete excess salt which comes out as sweat through the pores in our fingers. “So the sweaty fingerprint impression you leave when you touch a surface will be high in salt if you eat a lot of processed foods -the higher the salt, the better the corrosion of the metal.” “This would be particularly helpful for terrorist type crimes where the nature of the incident would tend to obliterate forensic evidence. So a sweat mark on a piece of metal or bomb fragment that might be recovered from an incident might be able to provide a clue to the type of person who perpetrated the incident.” “We would describe the study of sweat as a process of intelligent fingerprinting - using the fingerprint to tell us more about the individual rather than a simple identification.”

University of Leicester announces world first forensic technique

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/23217/University_of_Leicester_announces_world_first_forensic_technique.html

Traditionally 2 types of radiology are used in mass fatality and temporary mortuary investigations -that of fluoroscopy and plain x-ray.These techniques however are time consuming, yield limited information and are a health and safety hazard to those working in the environment due to the use of radiological equipment outside their normal working area. They are also not undertaken at the scene of the incident.As far as we know, for the first time in the world a new radiological system was used recently at a mass fatality investigation. A team of researchers led by Professor Guy Rutty of the University of Leicester Forensic Pathology Unit used a mobile MSCT scanner at the mortuary for the examination of the victims of a vehicle mass fatality incident.This instrument provided superior information in 2 dimensional plain film (AP and lateral) and 3 dimensional multi-slice examination with on-site soft tissue and bony reconstruction. The system proved faster then traditional temporary mortuary radiology yielding greater information related to identification, health and safety, autopsy planning and cause of death.Professor Rutty said: "The demonstration of the ability to utilise mobile MSCT technology under these circumstances may result in a complete rethinking of the type of radiology to be used in temporary mortuaries or mass fatalities scenes. The work presently being undertaken by my research team within the Forensic Pathology Unit at the University of Leicester in this area is hoped to develop new approaches to mass fatality radiological investigation which may be adopted throughout the world." University of Leicester

Cell Phones Distract Drivers

Driving and talking on the phone is a bad combination. Studies show that talking on a cell phone is worse than a talkative passenger. Now if you get caught with a cell phone in your hand while you are driving you get a ticket. So people went to the hands free cell phones. However according to a recent Reuters report on a new study published by the Journal of Experimential Psychology: Applied. Even worse, drivers who use mobile phones are as impaired as those who are legally drunk. The university of Utah launched a series of driving-simulation tests to determine that hands-free gadgets such as a Bluetooth headset are just as distracting as holding a phone to your ear. Talkative passengers are better for the driver because they can point out hazards to you. This goes to show that even if someone uses a bluetooth headset it does not prevent you from getting in harms way. 

Criminals Who East Processed Foods More Likely TO Be Discovered, Through Fingerprint Sweat Corroding Metal.

Can fast food and other processed meals make one's fingerprints more distinct? According the Dr. John Bond from University of Leicester and scientific support officer at Northamptonshire Police, processed foods increase the salt content of an individual's sweat causing their fingerprints to be more corrosive to the objects they touch. 

Processed foods are chalk-full of salt and in order for the body to get rid of all the extra salt it ingests, the body sweats it out through pours on the fingertips. The higher the sweat's salt content is, the more corrosive the sweat is on the object it has come in contact with. Thus as the corrosion increases, it becomes easier for investigators to determine who the fingerprint belongs to because the corrosion makes the fingerprint more distinct.

Not only does sweat help identify the fingerprint of a suspect, but sweat also tells investigators certain lifestyle information, such as the general food habits of the suspect. Sweat is able to provide investigators with information such as this solely based on the salt content of the sweat marks left behind. The varying levels of salt content within the sweat provides the investigators with a general idea of what the suspect eats.

Dr. John Bond hopes to make further breakthroughs in sweat itself in order to profile an individual based only of the information sweat provided the investigators with.

web address: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915210509.htm

Alex's current Event

On sunday afternoon, the Endeavour space shuttle was forced to change it's landing from flordia to California due to bad weather. This shuttle was in space, because they were looking to repair and fix the space station. It consisted of over 7 members of a crew and late last week the members of the crew had to walk on a deadly walk where one of the members almost died. While the trip was deadly lots of information was found. While the landing in California was good, it means that the crew can't see their families, because they were in Flordia. Thsio article was very interestimg, because it talks about a very current event and the issues that occur when a space shuttle has to land in a different location.

Kelly's Current Event

LOS ANGELES - In their cocoons of leather upholstery, soothing high-tech sound systems, and automatically activated personal seat settings, drivers have come to regard their car interiors as mobile extensions of the homes that are their private refuges.

The courts have tended to disagree.
Global positioning systems and factory-installed "black box" event data recorders effectively keep late-model vehicles under surveillance 24/7, providing evidence that can place a suspect at a crime scene, undermine an alibi, expose a cheating spouse, or prove liability in an accident.
Although privacy rights advocates warn that the devices augment an already intrusive network of security cameras, speed-monitoring radars, and instantly available databases, police and prosecutors hail the technologies as powerful investigative and forensic tools.
GPS tracking records introduced at trial put a Yolo County, Calif., man at the scene of arson fires, leading to his conviction in October for setting a dozen blazes in 2006.
A Commerce, Calif., man suspected of robbery was tracked by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives who planted a GPS unit in his car, mapping his movements and using the evidence to convince a jury he was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.
In murder cases in Illinois, Washington, and California, including the trial of Scott Peterson for killing his wife and unborn son, the technology has been credited with helping establish guilt.
The evidence is sometimes the product of unwitting self-surveillance. GPS units keep positioning tracks that, if not erased, create a record of a person's movements.
Event data recorders are standard equipment in most new cars. They record speed, braking, signaling, and other driving behaviors, and can show investigators vital details about what led to a crash.
Wisconsin attorney David A. Schumann, who did some of the earliest legal analysis of GPS potential, points out its usefulness in tracking suspects, locating victims, and monitoring released convicts.
"There are cases where people have gotten hung by their own GPS, bought for purposes of evading the law only to have it used against them," Schumann said of drug traffickers and migrant smugglers caught with evidence they unknowingly gathered against themselves.
He also recalled the case of a Wisconsin man compelled to plead no contest to felony charges after using a GPS to stalk a former girlfriend.
Corporate owners of car and truck fleets, like rental and delivery companies, legally can track their vehicles and act on employee misconduct detected in the process.
But "Tracks of third parties, or of their property, without their knowledge are probably inadmissible and even illegal unless the tracks are conducted by law enforcement," Schumann said.
Also, in a slap at unauthorized consumer surveillance, state courts in Connecticut and California have struck down rental-car company practices of imposing surcharges based on GPS detection of excessive speeds or prohibited out-of-state travel. California banned such tracking four years ago, but rights advocates remain wary of the expanding surveillance.
"We are always concerned about individuals being tracked without their knowledge or informed consent," said Tori Praul, privacy researcher for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California