Forensics Science Report
Scientists are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind technology that could help law enforcement officials trace the residues from terrorist attacks involving nerve gas and other chemical agents back to the companies or other sources where the perpetrators obtained ingredients for the agent. A report on the technique, which could eventually help track down perpetrators of chemical attacks, appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.
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 | Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives, according to pioneering research led by Michigan State University. ...> Full Article |
 | NIST has published a revised biometric standard that vastly expands the type and amount of information that forensic scientists can share across their international networks to identify victims or solve crimes. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers at the University of Seville have developed a technique based on chemical patterns for identifying the country of origin of beer. The content of iron, potassium, phosphates and polyphenols is found to be determining components. German, Spanish and Portuguese beers have been detected with 99 percent accuracy thanks to the model. ...> Full Article |
 | The newfound scientific power to quickly "fingerprint" species via DNA is being deployed to unmask quack herbal medicines, reveal types of ancient Arctic life frozen in permafrost, expose what eats what in nature, and halt agricultural and forestry pests at borders, among other applications across a wide array of public interests.
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The ability to efficiently and unobtrusively screen for trace amounts of explosives on airline passengers could improve travel safety -- without invoking the ire of inconvenienced fliers. Toward that end, mechanical engineer and fluid dynamicist Matthew Staymates of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., and colleagues have developed a prototype air sampling system that can quickly blow particles off the surfaces of shoes and suck them away for analysis.
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A man with a low IQ confesses to a gruesome crime. Confession in hand, the police send his blood to a lab to confirm that his blood type matches the semen found at the scene. It does not. The forensic examiner testifies later that one blood type can change to another with disintegration. This is untrue.
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University of Cincinnati research examining the edgy intersection of fashion and crime is revealed at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Montreal.
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On-the-ground photos from the next political uprising may come with added authenticity tags. Duke University computer scientists have developed a new feature, called YouProve, which can be integrated into the Android operating system to monitor images and audio captured with mobile devices.
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 | When investigating a murder, every clue helps. New research from North Carolina State University sheds light on how -- and whether -- blow flies survive when buried underground during their development. It's an advance that will help forensic investigators understand how long a body may have been left above ground before being buried -- or possibly whether remains were moved from one grave to another. ...> Full Article |
In October 2011 the National Institute of Justice and the Forensic Science Foundation funded a capstone project proposal in the Master of Forensic Science Program at Sam Houston State University to investigate the designer drugs known as "bath salts" (beta-keto-amphetamines or BKAs).
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As words can be the soul's window, scientists are learning to peer through it: Computerized text analysis shows that psychopathic killers make identifiable word choices -- beyond conscious control -- when talking about their crimes. This research could lead to new tools for diagnosis and treatment, and have implications law enforcement and social media. (Legal and Criminological Psychology)
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Professor Nachum Dershowitz of Tel Aviv University has developed a new computer algorithm to help unravel the different sources that contributed to the authorship of the scriptures. Sidestepping the problems of content-based analysis, his algorithm searches for patterns in writing style to give deeper insight into ancient writings such as the Bible.
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A team of University of Notre Dame biometrics experts are developing a tool that can help law enforcement and military officials identify suspicious individuals at crime scenes.
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Scientists are reporting development of the first fast and reliable scientific method to determine the age and authenticity of priceless silk tapestries and other treasures -- such as Civil War General Phillip Sheridan's famous red-and-white battle flag -- in museums and other collections around the world. A report on their work appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.
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Digging up clues: Research on buried blow flies to help crime scene investigators