Second Team going through their "walk-through" of the crime scene, discussing what they see prior to identifying and cataloging the physical evidence
Team 2 C block Walk-through

A breath test for opioids

Michael Burstein

Mr. Ippolito

Forensics - D Odd / Current Event #6

October 27, 2019

University of California - Davis. "A breath test for opioids." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 October 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191004105645.htm>.

This journal article titled, “A breath test for opioids” published by a research team out of the University of California - Davis is a relatively new piece that was generated as a result of this brand new discovery. The hope is that this new breath test could be used in a variety of settings. The main area of focus for the research team is in caring for chronic pain patients. The hope is that this can help doctors monitor their patients taking medications in order to make sure they are taking the drugs correctly, the drugs are being metabolized properly, and that they are not taking any additional medications. The article goes on to discuss the various other ways they hope this test can be used in the future. At this point, it is still too early to be trying to apply this new technique to a variety of fields, so the researchers have picked one to focus on for now. 

This new technique for detecting opioids has the potential to be very important in the field of forensic science. This is because this new approach to detecting opioids relies on a person’s breath, and works similar to a standard breathalyzer that is currently used by police departments to detect alcohol. The goal is that in the future police officers will be able to “breathalyze” people suspected of having prescription drugs in their system. This could be influential in forensic science because drugs play a major role in helping solve crimes and analyze crime scenes. If there was a faster way to detect the presence of drugs it could change the way crime scenes are processed. 

Overall, I thought this article was well-written. The authors do a really good job of highlighting their discovery, discussing the various ways this new technique can be applied, and they do acknowledge the shortcomings. As the article makes note of, I too agree that to fully validate this breath test more data needs to be collected and it needs to be collected from a wider variety of patients. The one thing I would change is that I would write more about some of the other uses this breath test has rather than applying most of the focus of the article towards the benefits of using it in the medical field. I would also write more about what some flaws with this breath test may be, including possibly how accurate or inaccurate it is.  

The thought of utilizing hereditary parentage databases to settle violations as of late crossed from speculative into valid when police utilized an online genealogical database to find the supposed Golden State Killer, a sequential criminal who threatened quite a bit of California during the 1970s and 1980s. Presently, in an investigation distributed October 11 in Cell, analysts are detailing manners by which that sort of request could conceivably be extended.

In particular, they have distributed a computational strategy for connecting people in lineage databases to those in law-authorization databases. These two databases utilize totally various frameworks of hereditary markers. The specialists report in proof of standard with 872 individuals that for close family members - either kin or parent-posterity sets - beyond what 30% can be precisely coordinated with the right relative utilizing nonoverlapping hereditary markers from the two distinct databases.

"There's an inheritance issue in that such huge numbers of DNA profiles have been gathered with this more seasoned hereditary marker framework that has been utilized by law requirement since the 1990s. The framework isn't intended for the all the more testing questions that are present of intrigue, for example, distinguishing individuals spoke to in a DNA blend or recognizing family members of the benefactor of a DNA test," says senior creator Noah Rosenberg, a science educator at Stanford University. "In this examination, we were attempting to suggest the conversation starter of whether a more current, increasingly present-day arrangement of hereditary markers could be tried against the old framework and still get matches and discover family members."

The database utilized by the FBI and other law-requirement offices is known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). It depends on short couple rehash (STR) markers, a sort of duplicate number variety, in noncoding districts of the DNA. (The framework initially utilized 13 markers; it as of late was refreshed and now incorporates 20.) By differentiate, family databases search for contrasts in single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) crosswise over countless locales in the genome.

In an investigation distributed a year ago, Rosenberg's group announced that the product could coordinate people who showed up in the two databases even with genotype datasets that had no common markers. They coordinated over 90% of individuals utilizing the 13-marker form of CODIS and up to 99% with 20 markers. The key though is that each STR marker is encompassed by SNPs that are normally acquired together with the STR. Accordingly, an individual's genotypes for those SNPs can mostly anticipate the genotype of the neighboring STR and the other way around. At the point when these unpretentious relationships are gathered crosswise over numerous STRs, it ends up conceivable to coordinate an SNP profile with an STR profile.

The new paper based on that examination by taking a gander at whether a similar methodology would work in interfacing close relatives. They found that when one individual had been investigated for STR markers and the other for SNP markers, about 30%-32% of parent-posterity sets and 35%-36% of kin sets could be connected.

In the Golden State Killer case, law implementation submitted DNA gathered from one of the wrongdoing scenes for SNP genotyping, at that point utilized an open-source family database to interface that profile with different people who were available in the database. In any case, the system detailed in the new paper recommends that familial ventures may be conceivable to perform connecting individuals in CODIS to family members in a lineage database or the other way around.

The investigation was proposed to give information to talking about a significant number of the issues encompassing measurable hereditary qualities and genomic security, Rosenberg clarifies. "We needed to look at to what degree these various sorts of databases can speak with one another," he says. "It's significant for the general population to know that data between these two sorts of hereditary information can be associated, regularly in startling ways."

At the point when current strategies encompassing DNA proof were set up, it was beyond the realm of imagination to expect to make this association. "We have demonstrated that the insightful reach of legal STR profiles may be conceivable to grow past what was recently accepted to be the breaking point," he includes.

In the paper, the scientists note other approaches pertinent issues encompassing this extended ability. For instance, certain populaces are overrepresented in law-requirement STR databases. Extending the utilization of database searches could change the computation about who is open to agents from the profiles in those databases. "There has just been a ton of lawful examination on how STR databases are utilized," Rosenberg says. "With this examination, we recommend that SNP databases and their connections to STR databases ought to likewise be considered in that investigation."

The new discoveries have applications for different zones of concentrate past law requirements. For instance, biologists examining living beings in the field could utilize this way to deal with deciding if creatures living in a specific geographic site slid from creatures whose DNA had been gathered on a past inspecting outing regardless of whether just STR information is accessible from the more established examples. The linkage instruments likewise could possibly be utilized to connect DNA sections from old people with one another - for instance, when various examples are tried from an old internment site.

Modern Forensics Solves Stone Age Murder Mystery after 33,000 Years

Lorelei Heath 

Mr. Ippolito

Forensics

10.26.19

Scully, Ruby Prosser. “Modern Forensics Solves Stone Age Murder Mystery after

33,000 Years.” New Scientist, 3 July 2019,

www.newscientist.com/article/2208455-modern-forensics-solves-stone-age-murder-mystery-after-33000-years/.

During World War II in 1941, the skull of a man from 30,000 years ago

was discovered. The skull belonged to a Cioclavina male from the

Upper Paleolithic Period. Since then, the skull has been examined

and analyzed by curious forensic anthropologists. Many of the

questions that people thought to themselves were how the way

he died: Did a cave collapse? Or was it a homicide? The skull

showed signs of trauma, with two fractures on the right side,

which led them to believe it was a forced injury. 

When reading the article an explanation of forensic evidence

was written and was clearly used in the process of deciphering

the result of the Cioclavina man. The forensic scientists

figured out that the first fracture was a “head-on” collision.

This made the scientists believe it was a collapsing cave

falling on the man’s head. After further examination, by

recreating multiple skulls, artificial skulls filled with

ballistic gelatin, and testing different scenarios with

them, they came to a conclusion, “The linear fracture

happened first and could have been either a result of a

person falling from their own height – while running

from someone, for example – or a result of a strike while

kneeling or being on the ground” said by scientist  Kranioti.

She then began to think the second fracture was from a

head-on collision caused by another individual. “Which

means that, in modern terms, if I had to define the cause

and matter of death as a forensic pathologist I would say

that the person died of craniocerebral injuries (as the brain

would also have been damaged from the blows) and that it

was a homicide.” Kranioti also adds, that without the

remaining parts of the body there is no sure way to

understand the matter of the man’s death completely. 

I actually really enjoy learning new things about how

we acted and what we used to do to survive during the

Paleolithic Era. That is the reason I picked this article

because I wanted to understand more about the kinds

of procedures that need to be taken to have a result with

evidence in rare conditions.  

We have started the Crime Scene Recording and Analysis activity this year. I remembered to capture two teams beginning their crime scene analysis. I apologize to the other two teams that I failed to capture working on their crime scene analysis.

Randy Ayala Valdez
Mr. Ippolito
Forensic Science
10/17/19
“Serious Problems with Forensic Software.” ScienceDaily, North Carolina State University, 15 Jan. 2019, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190115111950.htm
The forensic software program, DXAGE which is devised to estimate the age of individuals based on their bone mineral density, has received backlash for vital flaws. Jonathan Bethard, an assistant professor of anthropology at USF, saw that DXAGE's evaluations were confirmed using a small sample size of only 100 women. Thus, the researchers utilized data from 470 women who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine DXAGE's accuracy. They plugged the bone mineral density data for each of those women into DXAGE and compared the resulting estimated age with each woman's actual age. The researchers determined that the DXAGE calculations were off by 14.25 years.   
Although the research centers on a software program that failed to function accurately, it demonstrates great measures we have taken within the scientific field. Correspondingly, science and technology have major impacts on society, and their impacts continue to grow. Great measures like the establishment of software programs are essential to keep up with drastic changes generated by science. These major shifts act as a catalyst for scientific inquiries and breakthroughs.  DXAGE attempted to develop a new process of obtaining important information like identifying unidentified remains to help build a biological profile of the deceased through technology. We just need to ensure the validity of these programs before putting them into practice.
The article provides a sufficient amount of context, providing details on the extensive process of the research taken on the recent software program. Yet it fails to mention other techniques and alternatives used by current forensic experts to the same extent. This poses a weakness in the article that could easily be resolved to highlight the importance of performing validation studies on web-based applications like DXAGE.

Sarah Whitney
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event 5
October 17, 2019

“Forensics: New Tool Predicts Eye, Hair and Skin Color from a DNA Sample of an Unidentified Individual.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 14 May 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180514083926.htm.

In this article, the author describes a recently developed tool (HIrisPlex-S DNA test system) that can accurately predict someone's eye, hair, and skin color from biological material. This material can come in tiny amounts left behind at crime scenes to give law enforcement an idea of what the suspect's traits are. "This all-in-one pigmentation profile tool provides a physical description of the person in a way that has not previously been possible by generating all three pigment traits together using a freely available webtool." This tool is meant to serve as an alternate method of solving a crime if there is no DNA to compare to DNA found at a crime scene. "Importantly, we are directly predicting actual skin color divided into five subtypes -- very pale, pale, intermediate, dark, and dark to black -- using DNA markers from the genes that determine an individual's skin coloration."

This new tool can be extremely useful to forensic scientists as it provides a 'plan B' if the traditional method of DNA profiling cannot be used. Hopefully this means the number of solved cases will be able to increase, especially as more tools similar to this one are introduced into the scientific world.

The author of this article did a great job introducing this new tool and how it can be used to greatly aid forensic scientists. However, I noticed that the author was very repetitive mentioning 4+ times (in nearly exact wording) that this tool can be used to predict eye, hair, and skin color. As this article wasn't particularly lengthy, there was no need to describe it so many times. Additionally, I wish the author would have included some information about the specifics on how the HIrisPlex-S DNA test system works, how long it took to complete, what the process of decoding the DNA is like, etc.

Eve Balseiro

Forensics Current Event 

10/17/2019

Randle, Aaron. “Why the N.Y.P.D.'s DNA Database Has Some People Worried.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/nypd-dna-database.html.

My current event article, “Why the N.Y.P.D’s DNA Database Has Some People Worried” by Aaron Randle addressing another element of the 21st-century debate of safety vs privacy. Specifically, my article provides an in-depth look at the N.Y.P.D’s process of collecting and sustaining citizen’s DNA information. The city’s database, the Local DNA Index System, has over 82,000 profiles. According to the Legal Aid Society, that is nearly 29% increase over the past two years. This increase is due to the fact that N.Y.P.D keeps DNA information and those suspected but not convicted of crimes. Though this may seem like a massive overstep, the N.Y.P.D thinks differently. They believe having large numbers of DNA profiles to be crucial to solving certain crimes. “The Brooklyn district attorney’s office said DNA had helped solved 270 cases, including sexual assaults and homicides”. Clearly, this technique is effective but citizens are left wondering if losing their privacy is worth it. 

This article is relevant to today because, as stated, it highlights the debate of safety vs privacy. With 31,000 genetic profiles of people who were not convicted of a crime, it’s easy to see how they feel their privacy has been invaded. On the other hand, the article sites a story from 2014 of a man identified as the rapist from a previously unsolved case after he touched an object in a robbery. “Without having that resource, we would never have been able to identify one of the attackers in that case,” said the chief of forensic science unit in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, Rachel Singer.

Though I found this article incredibly informative, there is some room for improvement. For example, I found that many of Randle’s claims were not followed by a real-life example, which often caused the article to lose clarity. Overall, this article did a very good job of presenting both sides of the argument and defending each. 

Charlotte Cagliostro

Forensics

C Odd / Current Event 5

10/18/19

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Science. "Forensics: New tool predicts eye, hair and skin color from a DNA sample of an unidentified individual: New tool will be used when standard forensic profiling is not helpful." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 May 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180514083926.htm>. 

Recently, a team of international scientists worked together to develop a breakthrough in DNA analysis. They were able to create a new DNA test, known as the HIrisPlex-S system. This test is revolutionary in the sense that it can be used to accurately and efficiently predict hair, eye, and skin color phenotypes from DNA. Previous methods were less effective since they struggled to determine skin color and ethnicity from a sample of DNA. This new system will be used to build forensic profiles of unknown subjects from crime scenes. It can also be used to validate or invalidate eye-witness testimony regarding the appearance of the unsub. Co-director of the study, Susan Walsh, explained how this new test uses genetics to “take an objective look” at what any witnesses believe to have seen.

This article is incredibly relevant. DNA analysis is being used more and more frequently in forensic laboratories. Therefore, there is an increased need for new, innovative test systems that are more accurate. The HIrisPlex-S DNA test system will make finding unsubs far easier since it makes precise determinations regarding their physical characteristics. Additionally, considering the heightened use of DNA databases by the authorities, it is fair to assume that this new test system will be used frequently.

I enjoyed reading this article. While at times, I thought that the authors could have gone into more detail, overall, they did a great job summarizing the relevant points from the study and new product. They were able to make reading about a rather dense subject quite interesting through their engaging style of writing.

Maggie O’Hare

Mr. Ippolito

10/7/19

Current Event 4 (Forensics D-Odd)

Sandoval, Lysette Maurice N. “Mental Health Issues In Children May Be Caused by Air 

Pollution.” Science Times, 28 Sept. 2019, www.sciencetimes.com/articles/23920/ 20190928/mental-health-issues-children-caused-air-pollution.htm.

This article By Lysette Maurice Sandoval describes that mental health issues in children may be caused by air pollution. The author begins the article with a recent study from the University of Cincinnati who collaborated with the children’s hospital in the area. The results of this study concluded that a child’s exposure to air pollution causes psychiatric disorders one-two days later. They were able to come to this conclusion due to an increase in the emergency department concerning child psychiatry. Sandoval also mentions how this is a new study with little information and research done. She talks about how the environment children grow up causes stress and frequent psychiatric symptoms. 

This article, while interesting, does not have much relevance. It is an important topic and something that should be further researched. I think that there is not enough evidence to convince many people that this is a very serious issue. It is definitely something that needs to be looked into further because I know there are many kids and adults that use the outdoors as a way o destress and calm down, however, this article is contradicting this belief that has been around a long time. 

I thought that this article was an easy read, and flowed nicely. However, I wish the author would have included more evidence for this issue because there is not enough to convince readers that pollution is a cause of mental health issues. What Sandoval did do well, was used very reliable sources and studies but did not provide many details about these studies and findings. 

Randle, Aaron. “Why the N.Y.P.D.'s DNA Database Has Some People Worried.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/nypd-dna-database.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection.

The New York Times article by Aaron Randall that I selected for my Forensics current event, discusses the New York Police Department‘s DNA database and how it’s expansion has been controversial among New York residents. And example of this expansion of the database is that it’s overall size increased by 29% in the last two years, to a whopping 82,473 genetic profiles. The article talks about the primary concerns experience with in the community as a result of this data bases expansion. The primary concern stop by the community or privacy and trust. For example, a majority of the profiles in the database were derived from children and suspects who were suspected but not convicted of crimes, raising potential moral quarrels about whether they should be in a legal database or not. Furthermore, one cannot ignore the history of racism and discrimination within many police departments in the United States and the resulting lack of willingness among minorities to put their Faith in institutions that have repeatedly failed them over the past years. The article also talks about how the police have been responding to this civilian criticism. The main argument offered up by police is that their DNA collection has not been indiscriminate, and has in fact been a key contributor to the decrease in crime New York has experienced over the past few decades.

The relevance of this current event can simply not be overstated. The concerns raised by the civilian population of New York as a response to this DNA database expansion are completely legitimate. For example, it is extremely worried that this government agency is collecting bass amounts of genetic information on the population. Especially, on members of the population that I’ve never actually been found guilty of a crime. This creates a large risk of government potentially abusing this information and very authoritarian manners. Well there are many potential dystopian scenarios in which this can occur, one of the most easy to imagine is the utilization of such a database by government to act out discrimination or other bad actions. Another important consideration to be made on the contrary however, is that police need to be able to affectively do their jobs in the modern age. As a civilized society, we just have to except the fact that in order to continue to enjoy the high rate of criminal conviction within our justice system, we need to except their continued use an integration of new technologies in maintaining such a high rate of conviction. Thus, the use of DNA data is inevitable by police departments and we cannot be in denial about how much more successful it has made them at catching those who are responsible for crimes.

Wow this article was very well written, it was very poorly sourced and rather short. I feel that the author could’ve easily elaborated more and got into more detail about the exact concerns posed by the citizens of New York to the police department as a result of this DNA database expansion. Furthermore I think the author could’ve also taken a more decisive stance on the dispute between the civilian population and the police department. While opinion writing is not always valued in scientific forms, in a situation like this where there are two opposing sides to an argument, and authoritative argument in favor of one side can be very productive in facilitating and productive discourse.. 

Masha Popovic 

Mr. Ippolito 

Forensics

Oct. 6, 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/health/mass-
shootings-mental-health.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic
%2FForensic%20Science&action=click&contentCollection=tim
estopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&c
ontentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection

The New York Times offered an interesting

article titled “What Experts Know About People

Who Commit Mass Shootings”. It talks about

the psychological ideology behind mass

shooters/shootings. It breaks down the hypothesis

that shooters study previous crimes, mimicking killing

tactics. Forensic psychologists mention that “mass killers

see themselves as part of a brotherhood of like-minded,

isolated and resentful boys and men. To them, previous mass

murderers may be perceived as idols and pioneers.” The

article mentions that there are many possible explanations

behind such  patterns of reasoning; for example mental

illness.  Scientists have found that a slight fraction of

people with mental distress are more likely to commit

violent acts.  However, Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic

psychiatrist, says that about one in five mass murderers

shows evidence of psychosis. The other 80 percent have

“normal” issues including anger or jealousy.

In relation to society today, it's important to note how

certain actions can have chain reactions. In addition, the

article notes how video games have been culprits for violent

crimes. Carey says “in the vast majority of settings, violent

video games do increase aggressive behavior” — but that

“these effects are almost always quite small.” I wouldn't say

that video games are a large reason to why people are violent,

but the point of this is to showcase how building aggression in

oneself(through many events, not just video games) can lead

to dangerous alternative motifs. Constant signs of anger, jealousy,

or depression can be the reason why someone has an impulse to

commit a violent act such as a shooting. It's important to be able

to recognize these signs within people in our societies so that we

can treat/stop events like this from happening before they do. 

I thought this article did a great job with organizing their points.

They used multiple examples, such as effects of video games and

illness as mentioned, to back up their understandings about people

who commit mass shootings. It was interesting to read about how

 shooters study previous crimes, mimicking killing tactics. However,

I have a lot of criticisms to make about this article. As interesting

as its approach is, acting like we can identify perpetrators before

they commit their crimes is highly unlikely. I feel like the most

logical approach to stopping such crimes is to limit weapon

availability to potential terrorists. I would suggest that the author

try to expand their thought process and think of alternative

ways to put a stop to mass shootings other than psychological

studies. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment and reading a bit more into

the forensic world. 

Student Video Contest

 

Sophia Prior 

Mr. Ippolito 

Forensics 

October 4th

 Sang-hun, Choe. “Man Confesses to Brutal Killings That Terrorized South Korea, Police Say.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/world/asia/south-korea-serial-killer.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FForensic%2BScience&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection.

The article by the New York Times called, “Man Confesses to Brutal Killings That Terrorized South Korea, Police say”, they discuss a man's confession to a crime committed more than twenty years ago. The crime consisted of the suspect raping and murdering fourteen women. The murders were gruesome, ranging from all ages, and the killer left the victims mutilated. The forensic evidence found to lead the investigators to the killer, who was already in prison for life from raping and killing his sister in law in 1994. This man is now 56 years old, called Lee Chun-Jae. Based on DNA evidence matching taken from the last four out of nine total likking they were able to match them to Chun-Jae. Now because of recent developments in DNA testing, they were able to decipher the suspect of the case. They were able to take the bloodstains found from his murder of his sister in law to connect him to the many other crimes.

In addition, Mr. Lee can not be prosecuted for the crimes he committed because the statute of limitations, which is 15 years has ended. This is part of the problem with the statute of limitations, because many cold cases, each year remain unsolved. However, recently South Korea has changed its rules on the statute of limitations, later abolishing the fifteen-year deadline. Due to Mr. Lee being a model person in prison it will be harder for him to be granted parole. The police are still unsure as to why Mr. Lee had confessed but they believe he was already in prison for life and had a guilty conscience. 

Overall, this article gave a good in-depth summary of the case, those who worked on the case, its victims and the suspect Mr. Lee. The author Choe Sang-Hun gave a good summary of how the DNA was found at the crime scenes connecting Mr. Lee to the other crimes committed years before. It helped to expand my knowledge on DNA analysis as well as the statue of limitations in different countries.