Forensic Connect

PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Fast Systems Webinar

ForensicConnect — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:08:15 +0000

You are cordially invited to attend our webinar on the PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Fast Systems. The webinar is being hosted by Forensic Magazine.
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of these systems as well as a summary of preliminary developmental validation data on overall performance. In addition, results of side by side comparison studies to the standard PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Systems indicate that performance of the Fast versions are comparable to the standard PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Systems, demonstrating that the PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Fast Systems can be a valuable solution to the challenges of both casework and databasing laboratories.

The PowerPlex® ESI and ESX Fast Systems offer:

Cycling time of less than 50 minutes saving hours
per run
Multiple kit configurations to enable confirmation of results from poor-quality samples
One kit for casework or databasing samples
Common loci for simplified data sharing across borders
Superior inhibitor tolerance and mini-STRs to ensure a high success rate with challenging casework samples
You can register for the session by clicking here!

Senate passes bill which would strengthen PA’s DNA laws

ForensicConnect — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:20:33 +0000

A bill strengthening and modernizing Pennsylvania’s use of DNA technology to fight violent crime, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9), was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Tuesday, according to a press release.

DNA on Gatorade bottles leads police to suspects in huge metal-theft

ForensicConnect — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:00:28 +0000

Prosecutors say DNA left on Gatorade bottles led them to two men suspected in the largest known metal theft in Washington state.
Donald Howard Turpin, 54, and Lee Russell Skelly, 44, are accused of stealing 4.3 miles of copper wiring from the Sound Transit Light Rail System between November 2010 through August of 2011.

PowerPlex® Fusion Tech Tour Seminar Series

ForensicConnect — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:31 +0000

Join your colleagues at a workshop hosted by Promega on the forensics workflow and the challenges it brings. The half day seminar will feature presentations by leaders in the forensic community, as well as updates on the latest technologies and products from Promega. Learn about the newest tools designed to meet the new CODIS standards, for both casework and databasing efforts, including:
• PowerPlex® Fusion System: Developmental Validation & Implementation
• PowerPlex® Y23 System: Tales from a Casework Laboratory
• Maximizing Success with Challenging Samples
• Mixture Interpretation & Statistics
• DNA Backlog Reduction Strategies

The seminar is free of charge to individuals working in forensics and paternity laboratories. Beverages and snacks will be provided. Space is limited, so be sure to register early!
To learn more or to register, go to http://www.promega.com/fusiontour.

Crime lab praised for its quality forensic work under tough international standards

ForensicConnect — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:28:09 +0000

RALEIGH, North Carolina — North Carolina’s top crime laboratory is being recognized for quality work.

Rape Kits Investigation: Who’s involved, the indictments, and how it began

ForensicConnect — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:25:09 +0000

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County prosecutors and investigators are revisiting decades-old unsolved rape cases, using DNA evidence to connect serial rapes, tracking down victims and sending cases to grand juries for indictment – often racing against a 20-year statute of limitations.

Offutt Air Force Base gets new 23,000-square-foot forensics lab

ForensicConnect — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:15:33 +0000

The military command responsible for identifying the remains of the missing dead from past wars opened a large new facility at Offutt Air Force Base Monday morning.
The Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, known in the military as JPAC, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 23,000-square-foot forensics laboratory in the former Martin Bomber plant.

At least 2 dozen men wrongly convicted or arrested on bite evidence exonerated by DNA evidence

ForensicConnect — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:41:30 +0000

At least 24 men convicted or arrested based largely on murky bite-mark evidence have been exonerated by DNA testing, had charges dropped or otherwise been proved not guilty. Many spent more than a decade in prison, and one man was behind bars for more than 23 years before he was exonerated.

Medieval leprosy genome shows history of disease and beyond

ForensicConnect — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:00:05 +0000

It is the first time scientists have reconstructed an ancient genome without a reference sequence (de novo) due to the extraordinary preservation of the medieval pathogen’s DNA. This finding indicates that ancient bacterial DNA may survive in some cases much beyond the one million year boundary suggested for vertebrate DNA.

Sacco-Sarlo Bill To Improve Public Safetly By Expanding DNA Database Clears Committee

ForensicConnect — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:34:11 +0000

TRENTON – In an effort to assist criminal investigations and deter and detect recidivist acts, Senators Nicholas J. Sacco and Paul Sarlo sponsored legislation that would add disorderly person’s offenses to the list of criminal conduct that, upon conviction, requires biological sampling for the DNA database. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved the legislation.