Death renews biosecurity debate

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 1 day (www.nature.com)

The suicide of a biodefence researcher who was being investigated in connection with the 2001 anthrax attacks has raised questions about the U.S. government’s regulation of research on dangerous pathogens—even as Congress considers a bill to improve oversight.

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You are what, and where, you drink

sea-maid submitted, created time 6 months 2 days (www.economist.com)

POLICE now have a new test to help catch criminals and verify alibis. By analysing the chemical composition of human hair, researchers can determine the source of the water someone has been drinking in recent months. And that can indicate where he or she has been.

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Childhood exposure can affect the brain

kavin submitted, created time 7 months 1 week (www.sciencenews.org)

The effects of lead weigh heavy on the minds of people exposed to the metal during childhood. Two new studies of adults who lived in lead-contaminated housing as kids find that higher lead levels in the blood during childhood are associated with smaller brains and with an increased risk for violent criminal behavior.

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Law enforcement standby gets critiqued: Nature advises that lineups go double-blind

Darkfrog submitted, created time 7 months 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

In the early 1990's, then-attorney general Janet Reno invited scientists to reevaluate the traditional lineup. Many of the people exonerated by the Innocence Project--216 by their count--were identified using lineups, even though DNA evidence later proved that the crimes were committed by other people.

The conclusion: Lineups need to go double-blind. In almost all cases, the person who accompanies the witness to the lineup is the case's overseeing officer, who knows the suspect's identity

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Researchers use mouse urine to construct artificial noses

Darkfrog submitted, created time 7 months 3 weeks (www.nature.com)

No, it's not left over from the vivarium. They selected mouse urine because of its high concentration of good-sized proteins. The artificial noses, as they're called, may eventually be used to detect drugs and explosives.

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Scanning corpses reveals killer's fingerprints

sea-maid submitted, created time 7 months 4 weeks (technology.newscientist.com)

Because of a new technique that can capture even faint fingerprints left on a body, the corpses of murder victims could betray the identities of their killers. The method makes use of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). This involves firing a laser beam at a material, allowing its composition to be identified from the wavelengths of light scattered. SERS can also be used to image the distribution of a substance in a material.

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DNA tests offer deeper examination of accused

Sue Wu submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (www.msnbc.msn.com)

Twenty years after DNA fingerprints were first admitted by American courts as a way to link suspects to crime scenes, a new and very different class of genetic test is approaching the bench.

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Advocates for the accused say sneaking DNA sample free-for-all must stop!

Darkfrog submitted, created time 9 months 4 days (www.nytimes.com)

We see it on crime dramas all the time. The police don't have a court order to compel a DNA sample from the suspect, so they lift one off his sweat stain or trick her into licking an envelope. Then the person is either exonorated or, more common in fiction, a match is made and the plot proceeds.
In real life, tricks like these are legal in the U.S

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Your history is printed in your hair

Peterson case warrants seek GPS, 'biological material'

Eric wu submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (edition.cnn.com)

Investigators searching for an ex-police officer's wife are focusing on the Global Positioning System in her husband's vehicle along with "biological material" and other physical evidence, according to a published report.

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