Forensic Science in the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

Forensic Science in the 21st Century Essay Science in the 21st Century Gertrude West Forensic Science and Psychological Profiling /CJA590 May 30, 2011 Edward Baker Forensic Science in the 21st Century Forensic science has various influences on crime, investigation and the people that are involved. Forensic science has a connection with the courts to ensure crimes are getting solved and justice is being served to those that commit crimes. With the help of forensic science, crimes are being solved from a human and technological aspect. This paper highlights numerous discussions on how forensic science plays a role in criminal justices system, security, media and the law. Forensic science is a separate entity from the police; although a large portion of the work is obtains through law enforcement. Forensic science is a recognizable component of policing during criminal investigation. The successful resolution from a crime scene involves preventing the site from being contaminated. This helps assures a great deal of gathering and interpreting evidence that could lead to an accurate interpretation of the event. The advances in technology are being applied to forensic science; a field in which technical is achieved by many factors such as including training, experience, continued education, and scientific methodology (NYSP, 2007). Forensic Science continues to develop in the 21st Century. It blends science and technology that has been useful for law enforcement to solve crimes and prosecute criminals. Forensic sciences in criminal investigations include but are not limited to: bioscience, trace evidence, toxicology, photography, documentation, forensic imagery, forensic ID and SAFIS, evidence receiving, drug chemistry and ballistics. In addition, private forensic laboratories, such as Applied Forensics, are contracted and employed to assist in the judicial process in the analysis of documents in question and handwriting analysis (Davis, 2006). One of the biggest things that criminal investigators and officers will look for at a crime scene is DNA. DNA can be gathered not just only through blood but through any type of fluids as well. According to Blackman (2011), â€Å"DNA analysis is one of the main tools used in forensic science to identify individuals. Crime laboratories undertaking DNA typing are typically concerned with comparing DNA evidence with known standards. The evidence is DNA samples collected from a crime scene and these are cross-matched against DNA swabs taken from anyone connected to that scene, be that victims, defendants or elimination ‘known’s’. The elimination known’s can come from the victims’ relatives, for example, or, if it’s a shared house, from tenants. The comparisons are made, not only to generate and compile evidence against suspects, but also to exclude people from the investigation. The development and applications of forensic scince suppors operation aimed at prevention, disruption, and prosecution of terrorism. The discipline helps support intelligence and investigation. Thiss component is now incorporated into homeland Security, A pattern of legal instances benefiting from this type of scientific study would be medical malpractice litigation, probate proceedings, complex and commercial legal action and contract lawsuits. According to Shelton (2010), â€Å"Forensic Science in Court explores the legal implications of forensic sciencean increasingly important and complex part of the justice system. Judge Donald Shelton provides an accessible overview of the legal issues, from the history of evidence in court, to gatekeeper judges determining what evidence can be allowed, to the CSI effect in juries. † The media has the potential of affecting the way people think. People disregard their perception based on scenarios presented. Popular media representation of forensic science and influential presence on the public’s opinion on justice-related issues, the effect that impeccable synchronicity of the investigator and successful outcomes portrayed in fictional arenas are contemporaneous with the public’s feelings. Dissatisfied with the criminal justice system not solving cases fast enough, the public then places astronomical expectations on medical examiners. Real life investigators believing that a lack of competency may be at play when in reality, society has been provided a distorted view of the lengthy, painstaking process involved. According to Nurse Advocacy (2007), â€Å"People disregard all messages in advertising, since ads commonly present actors and models, but that is simply not how the human mind works. Despite being fiction, media products like this can still influence: our views of the vehicle in question (as the advertiser fervently hopes); the ability of women today to become authoritative, powerful professionals, yet to still have a family (presumably this ad was directed mainly at women who would identify with the surgeon); the basic set-up of ORs, the kinds of professionals who participate, how they dress, and what tools they use; and of course, the relative power, knowledge and professional roles of physicians and nurses. Some of this may be unintended, but all of it sells the minivan to the target demographic. All of the elements above contribute to the high credibility of the surgeon, who is, after all, doing the selling. † In this manner media also increase the knowledge of those that are committing crimes, what they may not have been doing before they are doing it now. For example if they were not wearing gloves and using cell phones that cannot be trace, paying for things in cash instead of electronically, they are sure doing this now. Television crime shows gives potential jurors the expectation of more cateforical proof than that which forensic scine is capable of produciing. â€Å"The most obvious symptom of the CSI effect is that jurors think they have a thorough understanding of science they have seen presented on television, when they do not† (Economist, 2010 ). Scientist deals more with probability than certainty. The process of calculating the probability is complex. During a court preceding a finger print expert may acknowledge a 90% chance of obtaining a match if a defendant left a print. On the other hand it could be one in several billion chance of a match if someone other than the defendant left the mark. DNA in general provides evidence of a higher quality than other forms of proof; therefore, experts may be more confident to link results to a specific individual. The probabilities and not certainties still lie within the DNA findings. As a result, trials are longer and cases that previously might have offer quick convictions are now ending in acquittals. The CSI effect can also be positive. In one case in Virginia jurors asked the judge if a cigarette butt had been tested for possible DNA matches to the defendant in a murder trial. It had, but the defense lawyers had failed to introduce the DNA test results as evidence. When they did, those results exonerated the defendant, who was acquitted† (Economist, 2010 ). In the study of forensic science, there are so many things that people do not know. The intelligence of this subject is becoming more and more prominent. In this manner people are becoming more educated in a good way (knowledge) and also in a bad way (committing crimes with the less possibility of getting caught). This subject matter is very prominent because it also increasing the knowledge of different crimes that may have not been prominent before the use of technology to now. The creation computers were for those to store office files and important information, but now computers are being used in so many different aspect as far as pornography, the promotion of sex, and so many other things. Technology has not become a door way to so many things. This makes forensic science become more and more prominent in this day in age, because there are computers hackers trying to access files to find out what is Americas next move and sometimes just the simple things of stealing others identification. In this manner that forensic has a connection with the courts, it is very important that this type of connection stays going due to the drive that it connects to ensure crimes are getting solved and justice is being served to those that are committing these crimes.

The Horses :: Literary Analysis, Muir

Read the following poem by Edwin Muir from The Faber Book of Beasts (pp.119–20). Then write a short essay of no more than 600 words explaining what the poem is about and consider whether you think the poem is more traditional or dissenting. The first part of this essay will analyse the meaning of the poem called The Horses, written be Edwin Muir. Initially it would be useful to understand what is meant by traditional and dissenting. Traditional: of, relating, or being tradition,(E. Dictionary, 2006). Dissenting: to have a disagreement or withhold assent, (E. Dictionary, 2006). Muir, came from an isolated place and lived around two world wars, (b. May 15, 1887, Deerness, Orkney, Scot.—.d Jan. 3, 1959, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng), (Encyclopedia, Britannica, 2010). It is a tempting thought that living on a lonely island and through two world wars, heavily influenced him for the poem. Edwin Muir's poem 'The Horses' tells the story of a devastating war on mankind, perhaps that of a nuclear war, that has left the world on the brink of extinction, 'Barely a twelve month after The seven days’ war that put the world to sleep,' (Assignment, Book, 2008). Muir's poem could be seen to parallel Genesis(Old Testament),(Encyclopedia, Britannica, 2010). A good example of religious connotation of words, the seven days war, covenant, Eden and servitude, in the beginning and our father,' (Assignment, Book, 2008). When, Muir uses the word 'piled' in the sentence 'Dead bodies piled on the deck,' (Assignment, Book, 2008), One has the sensation that the poet wants to show the reader of the depth of disregard for the dead in the poem. It also clearly emphasises the chaos and destruction that the war has brought upon man and that there was no time for the simplest of burials. Muir, in being rhetorical, is showing that the survivors' need for a simpler life a purer life away from the existence of a technology driven society that caused the seven days war. The poem shows a strong sense of irony with, 'Our life is changed; their coming our beginning.' (Assignment Book, 2008). Muir, has used alliteration and this can be seen in the repeated f in, 'far past our fathers' land,' reinforces how much man has changed and returned to a past way of life and possibly a rhyme for forefathers when reduced to 'far...fathers,' (Assignment, Book, 2008).

DNA Fingerprinting

DNA contains genetic material and information that makes up each individual trait. Every person can be identified by providing his or her genetic information based on a particular DNA strand. DNA information is an effective way of identifying persons if it is used properly. It is used to identify humans in different situations such as crime scenes, accident scenes, paternity testing, soldier remain identification, inheritance claims, missing person investigations, and convicted felon databases. Although there are different ways to identify DNA, the most common method is DNA fingerprinting. The process that was used in the lab experiment was gel electrophoresis.Before DNA fingerprinting, a different method called Blood typing was used. This method was used to identify people by taking a sample of dried blood. But this method had some disadvantages; for example, many people who receive blood by transfusionundergo changes in their blood characteristics,making difficult the blood typing; also, blood typing required an amount of body fluid that sometimes was not enough or that other times was deteriorated, making it impossible to do the blood typing. So, because of these disadvantages, DNA fingerprinting began to be used as a forensic tool.Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFPL’s) is a restriction enzyme that recognizes a specific strand of the nucleotides in DNA. This strand is different in every individual; the restriction enzymes cut the part of the DNA strand that is different, and it is used in gel electrophoresis to identify a person. For example, in crime scene investigations the DNA sample that is found is compared with the sample of suspects bythe gel electrophoresis procedure in order todetermine if the suspect committed a crime.When doing the gel electrophoresis process,different DNA strands are set in the lanes of the gel, and they are run by an electrochemical gradient from negative to positive to separate these strands. When the strands separate, they group themselves in bands. The shortest bands travel at higher speed; therefore, they are found at the end of the gel. This experiment gives the possibility to identify which bands are the same to the  one that was found in the scene, allowingreaching the objective, which is to uncover who is responsible at the crime scene.MATERIALSRestriction enzyme Colored micro-tubes contain DNA samples DNA loading dye Agarose gel Pipet Tips Electrophoresis apparatus TAE Buffer Centrifuge 120 ml of 100X blue stain. Tray 40 to 50 Celsius of tap water. IceMETHODS1. In the lab experiment DNA samples were provided in colored micro-tubes that were incubated in ice.2. 5 ulof DNA loading dye were placed in each sample tube and each tube was flipped gently with afinger. 3. A centrifuge was used to mix the DNA sample with the loading dye. 4. Theagarose gel was placed with thetop of the gel to the negative side in electrophoresis apparatus, and the electrophoresis box was filled with TAE buffer until it had completely covered the gel. 5. A pipet was used with different tips, and DNA samples were loaded into different lanes of the gel in the following order: Lane 2: DNA sizes marker 10ulLane 3: Suspect one, 20 ul Lane 4: Suspect two, 20 ul Lane 5: Suspect three, 20 ul Lane 6: Suspect four, 20 ul Lane 7: Suspect five, 20 ul6. The lid was placed in the electrophoresis chamber and plugged into the power supply. The power supply was turned on and the samples were electrophoresed at 100V for 30 minutes. 7. After that, the gel was removed carefully from the gel box and placed in a tray. 8. 120 ml of 100X fast blast of DNA stain was added. The gel was stained for two minutes with gentle movement. 9. The gel was transferred into a large tray and the gel was rinsed with warm tap water twice, with gentle shaking.The gel was leftto dry for 24 hours.Loadind dye was Centrifuge wasused Gel was placed DNA samples were placed in each to mix DNA and electrophoresis loaded in the gel micro-tube samplesloading dyeapparatusElectrophoresis Gel was placed in aGel was transferred Gel was rinse until chamberwas connected tray filled with to a clean tray the excess of stain to the power supply stain with warn tap water was removedRESULTSGel ElectrophoresisMolecular marker Crime Scene Suspect 1 Suspect 2 Suspect 3 Suspect 4 Suspect 5 Band Distance (mm) Actual size (bp) Distance (mm) Approx Size (bp) Distance (mm) Approx. Size (bp Distance (mm) Approx. Size (bp) Distance (mm) Approx. Size (bp) Distance (mm) Approx Size (bp) Distance (mm) Approx Size (bp 1 4 23,000 10 5,700 12 5,000 12 5,000 10 5,700 12 5,000 12 5,000 2 7 9,400 12 5,000 17 2,500 15 4,400 12 5,000 18 2,300 14 4,600 3 9 6,500 19 2,250 18 2,300 17 2,500 19 2,250 22 2,200 19 2,250 4 15 4,4005 18 2,3006 22 2,000DNA Bands Data TableBased on the results of the gel electrophoresis, suspect number three’s DNA sample matches with the crime scene sample, not only because they look the same, but also because o f the distance that strands travel along the gel, and the base pairs that they contain. The DNA bands of the crime scene sample were found at 10, 12, and 19 mm, instead of the bands of suspect numbers one, two, four, and five,which were found at different distances than the crime scene sample. Only the bands that correspond to suspect number three were found with similar distances to the crime scene one. Finally, the base pairs of the DNA bands of suspect number three and of the one found in the crime scene were 5,700 bp for the first set of DNA bands, 5,000bp for the second set, and 2,250 bpfor the third set. All of these results indicate that suspect number three was responsible for the crime committed in the crime scene.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSIn conclusion, DNA fingerprinting and electrophoresis were used to determine the size of the unique strand cut by restriction enzymes that identifies the individual who was responsible in the crime scene. This lab taught how to conduct an electrophoresis experiment, and how importantthe use of this method is to solve a problem that is common in society. In this process different DNA samples were provided, and after doing the electrophoresis experiment, it was found that the suspect committed the crime. DNA profiling, whichwascalled at first DNA fingerprinting, is used for other purposes, as was mentioned earlier. One of those is paternity  testing.At this time, this method has become less difficult than what people may believe. Some laboratories provide this service, sending to their clients a kitwith everything that is needed to collect a sample of DNA.This sample, which could be a small portion of cheek tissue taken with a swab and put in a labeled envelope, is returned to the lab to be analyzed. Sometimes when this type of test is required for legal reasons, the sample to be evaluatedis taken under supervisionin order to avoid any intentional errors. DNA fingerprinting and profiling have become common processes , but also these have become very important because they help to get accurate results by using genetic information in order to solve different situations such as a crime or paternity identification.

Human Nature Animal Nature - 2452 Words

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