Forensics News and Research - August 2009 Archives

Handwriting-based tool offers alternate lie detection method (8/31/2009)

A handwriting lie detection tool may change the face of effective law enforcement. ...> Full Article

A better test to detect DNA for diagnosing disease, investigating crimes (8/28/2009)

Researchers in Singapore are reporting development of a new electronic sensor that shows promise as a faster, less expensive, and more practical alternative than tests now used to detect DNA. Such tests are done for criminal investigation, disease diagnosis, and other purposes. The new lab-on-a-chip test could lead to wider, more convenient use of DNA testing, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the Sept. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication. ...> Full Article

Up-scale: Frequency converter enables ultra-high sensitivity infrared spectrometry (8/27/2009)

In what may prove to be a major development for scientists in fields ranging from forensics to quantum communications, researchers at NIST have developed a new, highly sensitive, low-cost technique for measuring light in the near-infrared range. ...> Full Article

Up to 90 percent of US paper money contains traces of cocaine (8/18/2009)

You probably have cocaine in your wallet, purse, or pocket. Sound unlikely or outrageous? Think again! In what researchers describe as the largest, most comprehensive analysis to date of cocaine contamination in banknotes, scientists are reporting that cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. The scientists found traces of cocaine in 95 percent of the banknotes analyzed from Washington, D.C., alone. ...> Full Article

New insights into the 'smell of death' could help recover bodies in disasters and solve crimes (8/17/2009)

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Scientists find new way to extract diluted and contaminated DNA (8/11/2009)

University of British Columbia researchers have developed a new way to extract DNA and RNA from small or heavily contaminated samples that could help forensic investigators and molecular biologists get to "the truth." ...> Full Article

A 'super sensor' for cancer and CSIs (8/4/2009)

Tel Aviv University develops tiny device to 'sniff out' disease, heart attacks, poison and environmental pollution ...> Full Article