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| Natural Body of Water (Pacific Ocean) |
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| Filtered Water |
When
a drowning victim’s body is discovered in water, forensics can establish if
drowning occurred in filtered water or a natural body of water by checking for diatoms. These single-celled algae, present
in all natural bodies of water, are filtered out of household water during the
treatment process. A standard microscope that magnifies objects to 1500 times
their actual size, can determine whether or not these diatoms are present.
A
scanning electron microscope can detect GSR, those tiny particles of gunpowder
that stick to the hand and leave a residue after someone fires a gun.
One
of the oldest forensics techniques, dusting for prints, has proved that no two
fingerprints are alike. AFIS, Automated Fingerprint Identification System,
increased the effectiveness of fingerprint analysis.
Deoxyribonucleic
acid testing may be the final frontier. DNA is found in blood, hair, skin, or
semen. This testing method has proved the innocence of numerous people
convicted of crimes on the strength of less accurate evidence.
Could
forensic testing one day become the enemy?
Interesting food for thought. It could be possible that something scientists discover turns out to be not true later on. Yet such things have been amazing and helpful.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on how it is used. The chance of manipulation especially in the area of pregnancy and in vitro fertilization is there.
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