Malaysian Airline Flight 17 and Forensics

This article is about the Malaysian Airline Flight 17 which was shot down over Ukraine about a year ago. Through forensic analysis it was concluded that the flight was deliberately brought down by “surface-to-air” missiles. A missile struck the front of the plane killing all three people in the cockpit instantly. The plane then crashed within 90 seconds and killed close to 300 people on board. Although the wreckage was dispersed over 50 kilometers, forensic detectives were able to find most of the remains and then reconstruct what happened to the aircraft. The weapons system was determined through fragments of wreckage and the crew member’s bodies. Through this forensic analysis, detectives were able to determine that the explosion was not due to weapons on board the aircraft. Forensic scientists were also able to recover cellphones on board which showed that there were no texts or videos taken during the flights fall to the ground, indicating that passengers were unaware of the attack.

At the time of the crash, conflict between Russia and Ukraine was increasing rapidly suggesting that perhaps there should have been more flight regulations for commercial aircrafts when traveling in this airspace. In addition, the harm of innocent civilians as the result of failing to identify whether or not the aircraft was linked to the military is now a concern to humanity. Forensic analysis was able to successfully trace the missile to its source, eliminating the anonymous nature of the strike. Also, forensic evidence was able to conclude that all passengers were unaware that the attack was going to happen due to the evidence found from the cellphones on board. This may bring some comfort to victims families that they had no idea of the events that happened.

This article was thorough in its forensic analysis and was able to clearly state and evaluate the events that occurred. It provided sufficient detail about the reconstruction of the scene and what evidence they were able to draw from doing so. However, it would have been good for more context to be provided regarding the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and why there have been such tense relations between the two nations. Overall, the article did an adequate job at stating the importance of the crash of Flight 17 and how forensics were used to determine what had occurred. 


http://www.forensicmag.com/news/2015/10/mh17-flight-shot-down-surface-air-missile-ukraine-say-investigators

New Device Can Extract Human DNA with Full Genetic Data in Minutes

At the University of Washington, the engineers and Nanofracture, a Bellevue, Washington company have designed a device that can contract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way that is much better and more efficient than some conventional methods. Just by taking a swab of saliva from your mouth you can get your DNA ready for analysis in minutes. This device will give hospitals and research labs the opportunity to have much easier and faster ways of separating DNA from human fluid samples. This will help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis, and forensic investigations! Extracting DNA is very complex, and the current procedure "is the equivalent of collecting human hairs using a construction crane." says Jae-Hyun Chung, a UQ associate professor of Mechanical engineering who is leading this research. It is an awesome opportunity to have this great technology made considering it is very complex to extract DNA. Having this technology to get the DNA quickly will be extremely beneficial. The new technology is a small, box shaped kit that is much smaller than what they use now, making it much more beneficial.

This article, New device can Extract Human DNA with Full Genetic Data in Minutes, was extremely interesting and informative. It did a great job informing me on the new technology being created at the University of Washington, with not too many words. The article also did a great job of explaining how this new DNA distinguisher is going to improve the ways we extract DNA today, and the process. One thing that could have been improved would be, they could have explained what the old technology was like in detail, so not only did we understand how the new technology will improve our methods, but also get a feel for how it used to be and how it is going to change.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506132100.htm

"New Device Can Extract Human DNA with Full Genetic Data in Minutes."ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, . Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence

http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2015/10/touch-dna-might-be-contaminating-crime-scene-evidence

Augenstein, Seth. "Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence." Forensic Magazine. N.p., 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.

I read the article “Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence,” and it discusses “Touch DNA” and its impact on criminal cases. DNA has been a major component in criminal investigations and physical evidence. It has locked up criminals and helped scientists conclude and gather information from cases that would not have been solved. Technology is advancing and becoming more prone to errors that can affect the results of the findings, which may lead to innocent people being sent to jail. Many people do not know what touch DNA is and what it is doing to forensic studies. Touch DNA is a forensic method for analyzing DNA left at the scene of a crime. It is called “touch DNA” because it only requires very small samples, like cells left on an object after it was touched or moved. “A two-minute handshake, then handling a knife led to the DNA profile of the person who never touched the weapon being identified on the swab of the weapon handle in 85 percent of the samples.” This shows that secondary DNA transfer could possibly place someone at the scene of a crime, and possibly send an innocent person to jail. According to a study done by the Journal of Forensic Sciences, one-fifth of those experiments mentioned before contained false information. The person who had never directly touched the knife was identified as the main or only contributor of the DNA on the handle. Analysts need to be aware that this can happen and need to provide other evidence when presenting in court. A microbiologist at Pace Analytical stated that the term touch DNA is misleading and does not completely explain all the ways DNA could end up some place. This shows that the future of criminal investigations are in danger if no one fixes these problems immediately.

   The issue discussed in this article significantly affects society. For example, if you are at the grocery store and are paying the cashier and accidently touch his/her hand, it is possible that forensic scientists could find your DNA at a crime scene. Any kind of contact, whether it be on the street or in a store, could be found using touch DNA. This method could lock up hundreds of innocent people, letting the real criminals free. Also, this could interfere with criminal investigations and evidence and change the future of forensics. Scientists say that they plan to continue experiments into 2016, hopefully “reducing the two-minute handshake down to smaller time frames.” This could eventually lead to issues in the government, laboratories, and society itself.

This article was very compelling because it gave me a sense of the issues in forensics at this moment. We normally hear problems arising in the government and social life, but now we get into more detail into forensic investigations. This article provided good real-life examples that helped the reader understand how significant this problem is. Also, the article did a good job of stressing the significance of this method and how it could impact the future of criminal investigations. However, this article had its weaknesses and one of those was that it did not provide specific information about what touch DNA was and when/how/why it was used (I looked it up). This article could have been improved by going more into depth about touch DNA and what scientists are preparing to do about it. We do not know for sure how people are planning to fix this issue and this article does not talk about it. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article because it made me realize how important this issue is and how it could affect forensic determinations.

How 3D laser scanners are changing crime scene investigations

In recent forensic news, laser scanners have been proven to show effective ways of investigating crime scenes. Crime scene investigators have been using 3D laser scanners increasingly as an effective and efficient means of enhancing their crime scene investigation capabilities. The laser provides for effective responsibilities as it is shown to be an effective way to quickly document crime scenes so the evidence can then quickly be sent for lab analysis. A typical laser scan of a crime scene takes no longer than ten minutes.Prep time scales with the size and complexity of the scene, so a multi-room house would take longer. The scan itself takes minutes.

So how important is this new scanner to our society?  Well, this means that potentially more crime scenes could be processed in less field hours. Not only that, but 3d scanners can be used in documenting a car collusion quickly, which could help reduce potential officer injuries. Roadside accidents are among the most common ways officers are injured on the job. Cutting down on the time spent to collect the evidence could not only help lower the injury risk, but cut down on the traffic.

The 3D scanner proves that our society is making great steps toward technological advancements. The 3D scanner makes it so that evidence collected can be stored digitally and then used at any time investigators need. The 3D scanner gives a more “CSI effect,” wowing jurors in courtrooms, that the effectiveness and efficiency is much like what they see on TV.

I think that as a society we are making major steps in a good direction when it comes to medicine and technology. This new invention proves that we are evolving quickly and becoming more efficient and smarter with our ideas. I would have liked to learn more about the actual 3D laser itself and what it can do, I think that could have been beneficial to readers to learn more about the laser itself and what it does specifically does.

PoliceOne BrandFocus Staff. "How 3D Laser Scanners Are Changing Crime Scene     Investigations." PoliceOne. FARO Technologies, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.

"Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence"

For today’s criminal investigations, DNA evidence has often been the proof that convicts a person or finds them innocence, solves cold-cases that would have otherwise been thought to be impossible, and usually acts as the best possible witness at a crime scene. However, as the article “Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence” reveals, any contact with another person, even for a brief amount of time, can place an unsuspecting person at a crime scene. A new study, titled “Could Secondary DNA Transfer Falsely Place Someone at the Scene of a Crime?”, by researchers at the University of Indianapolis created a scenario in which there is a two minute handshake. After this contact, one person handles a knife, but when the weapon’s handle was swabbed, the DNA profile of the person who never touched the knife was identified in 85% of the samples tested. According to the study, in one-fifth of these experiments, the person who never was in contact with the knife’s handle was determined to be the only or main contributor of DNA. This is why the concept of “touch DNA”--the DNA that is left behind on anything that one comes in contact with--is being reevaluated in this study. As Cynthia Cale, an author of the paper, states: “Analysts need to be aware that this can happen, and they need to be able to go into court and effectively present this evidence.” She adds that it must be explained to the judge and the jury that there are different possibilities as to why this DNA is there. An example cited in the article, relayed from Cale, depicts the case in which a California man was held for homicide for four months in 2013. This was due to the finding of his DNA underneath the victim’s fingernails. Luckily, however, it was proven that he was innocent. It was discovered that he had been hospitalized before the murder and that the paramedics who responded him were also at the homicide crime scene shortly after. The study is to be expanded in 2016 through experiments that involve DNA testing in smaller time frames instead of two minute handshakes.

As it is clear in the article, DNA now cannot be considered the purest form of evidence in order to convict or prove the innocence of a person. Some, as evident in the cases mentioned, are being wrongly accused and convicted for an action they never committed because of this transfer of DNA that places them at the crime scene. This changes the way how DNA evidence is considered. This discovery emphasizes the necessity to figure out a method to keep the innocent suspects innocent and convict the actual perpetrator.

Although eye-catching and interesting to read, improvements would be encouraged to create a stronger article. To the reader, it is obvious that the article consists mostly of quotes, which is necessary, but it would have been helpful if more detail and background on the case study was included. Also, some part of the article, particularly toward the middle paragraphs, the usage of quotes and the explanation of why “touch DNA” needs to be “rethought, in both a legal and scientific context” did not completely make sense. It took a few rereads to understand what they author intended to be the meaning. Otherwise, this article, “Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence”, was a new insight into the conflicts that “touch DNA” is now creating.

http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2015/10/touch-dna-might-be-contaminating-crime-scene-evidence

Augenstein, Seth. "Touch DNA Might Be Contaminating Crime Scene Evidence." Forensic

Magazine. Advantage Business Media, 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.