http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/11/12/Forensic-camera-can-spot-bloodstains/UPI-69511289608295/
Recently, U.S. researchers claimed to have developed a new camera allowing criminalists to scan a crime scene for bloodstains without altering or destroying valuable evidence. The researchers that developed the camera prototype can detect bloodstains even when the sample has been diluted to a great extent. Usually, bloodstains are detected by spraying a chemical called luminol around the crime scene that reacts with the iron in any blood present to emit a blue glow that can be seen in the dark. However, luminol is toxic, and can dilute blood samples making the DNA difficult to recover, and can smear blood spatter patterns that often tell how the victim died. In addition, it can produce false positives by reacting with things like bleach, rust, carbonated soft drinks and coffee. In spite of this, This new camera can distinguish between blood and all four of those substances, the researchers say. The way the camera works is when it take an image of a scene, it beams pulses of infrared light on a surface and then detects the infrared light that is reflected back off it. A special filter placed in front of the camera's detector can make a diluted blood stain show up against its surroundings by filtering out wavelengths that aren't characteristic of blood proteins. Researchers say that different filters could detect contrasts between a surface and any type of stain, such as sweat and lipids in fingerprints not visible to the naked eye.
This is a breakthrough in forensic science for the reason that this special camera can identify blood stains in a crime scene without tampering with any valuable evidence, therefore making the evidence authentic and accurate
Overall, i thought this article was interesting because of how this breakthrough can change so much in forensic sciences and make the blood stain detection method faster,accurate, and reliable
2 comments:
I thought that this article was extremely interesting for a few reasons. The biggest problem with most forensic science, especially when investigating the cime scene is that there is too much room for human error. This new technology allows humans to be taken out of the equation and the calculations are made by machine. This machine solves the problem of contaminating the scene, and it performs above and beyond by detecting blood stains that humans cannot with chemicals even when they are diluted. Two things I would change about the review would have to be the clarity and the absence of further information. I found the part about describing how this new scanner worked was a bit difficult to understand, and I would have liked to have known whether we are using this now or if it is still in the early stages. Overall I would say this was a good review and I was impressed by the fact that we are finding new ways to investigate crime scenes every day.
This article was very interesting. This new advancement in technology eliminates the problem of human error and crime scene contamination in forensic science. It allows all the calculations to be made by machines, eliminating human error. The new machine can detect blood stains that human are unable to do even with chemicals when they are diluted.
I would have added more information and analysis regarding the new camera, such as how frequently it is being used today. I wasn't sure if the camera is in use today or is still being developed. I thought that this article overall was very well written. It was very interesting to learn about the new advances in forensic science.
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