Vanessa

Warning: while this article talks about the stages of decomposition of the Human Body, it contains no images of human remains. So it’s Halloween, let’s go for a spooky theme for this month’s Forensic ...

As a headline, Intel Admits What We All Knew: No One is Buying AI PCs, has a lot to say about modern computing (Roach, 2025). In fact, the term AI is misleading, it’s just sophisticated programming, n...

Back in the 1970s, going to see a movie involved a short feature before the main showing. Mostly, these were cartoons, but occasionally there would be a documentary. Once such was Animals are Beautifu...

I’ve brought you up to date on Forensic Science. I may return to it when there’s a new breakthrough, but I thought I’d try something different for a while. There’s a lot of science out there that gets...

Have you ever wondered where the villains in your favourite classic detective fiction found their poisons to commit murder? Author’s descriptions linger on arsenic and cyanide as if they weren’t restr...

While this article talks about the stages of decomposition of the Human Body, it contains no images of human remains. So it’s Halloween, let’s go for a spooky theme for this month’s Forensic Science t...

Forensic Genetics is a new discipline. The use of DNA in police cases began properly in 1983 with a UK case which identified the murderer due to a distinctive DNA feature.  More on that case here. In ...

In May 2024, New Scientist magazine reported on the facial reconstruction of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman (George, 2024). Because her remains were discovered in the Shanidar cave in Iraq, she w...

33,000 years ago, a person died in a cave in what is now Romania. In 1941, phosphate miners discovered the fractured skull. And that was the full extent of knowledge about the find, before a scientist...

When I worked in medical biochemistry, testing for both illicit and legal drugs had a dedicated department. The dose, even for legal drugs such as lithium, must be strictly controlled. Too little drug...

The dramatic decline in the starling population rings alarms bells. A once common bird, with their stunning murmurations as seen in image 2, the population is now plummeting. But what has caused that ...

Sniffer Dogs are currently the front line in bio-security at borders. Once, when I entered a US airport, I was approached by a sniffer dog. It indicated to its handler that my luggage concealed meat. ...

In 2023, automation of forensic analysis became the big thing. As mentioned in my previous article, Reassessing Fingerprint Evidence, automation makes the forensic scientist’s job easier. So, how do t...

Super glue is a marvellous substance. However, it took a while for me to realise just how fantastic it is. I admit it, I’ve been using the stuff for years without really understanding it’s wonde...

In the movie My Cousin Vinny, a girl walks into the witness box and proceeds to undo the evidence of an Expert Witness. Because she works in her father’s and brother’s workshop, she can help acquit tw...

In the 1970s, bodies of prostitutes were found in Yorkshire, UK. Because they were left in a wide area the different police authorities did not recognise they had a serial killer. Eventually, the poli...

In 1991, hikers discovered a body in a mountain pass as a glacier thawed. Initially, it was thought to be modern. On further study, scientists learned the corpse was over 5000 years old. The man was n...

Science is not static, new information allows scientists to re-evaluate understood hypotheses, so no one would expect Forensic Science to stay still either. Each type of evidence needs constant evalua...

The analysis of DNA was a revolutionary practice for Forensic Science. Even cases, cold for decades, got reopened with the hope of finally finding an answer with DNA. But there are things that DNA can...

A prolonged drought lowered the water levels of Lake Mead, about 30 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout 2022, people enjoying recreational activities on the lake began finding human remains. By t...

In 1668, Francesco Redi reported on his experiments with rotten meat. His work proved that maggots did not spontaneously appear, they required flies to lay eggs on the meat. These eggs hatched into ma...

CW: The miniature crime scene dioramas depict images that some people might find distressing. Instead of including them here, as I usually would, I have placed links within the article so that you may...

The classic movie, My Cousin Vinny, is about a murder trial where a photograph wins the case. The whole verdict turns on an amateur photograph of tire marks which could not possibly be from the vehicl...

A prosecutor has over 70 witnesses against a defendant in a murder trial, yet the Jury pronounced him not guilty? Why was this? The Jury say it’s because there was no proof he had the gun, no blood sp...

Drug Trafficking is a major problem throughout the world. Not only the drugs themselves, but the related crimes, such as corruption of officials and money laundering, can destabilize economic and poli...

The Golden Age of Hollywood’s Silent Film industry was fuel by a mix of gin and cocaine. The Chemistry of Snow, as cocaine is called because… Reader: … Vanessa: What? Reader: It’s the Holidays… Vaness...

Researchers at the University of Chicago created an algorithm that predicts where crime will happen. They trained it on historical data, and now it announces an area one week in advance, with 90% accu...