Incorporating Argumentation through Forensic Science

This article outlines how to incorporate argumentation into a forensic science unit using a mock trial. Practical details of the mock trial include: (1) a method of scaffolding students’ development of their argument for the trial, (2) a clearly outlined set of expectations for students during the planning and implementation of the mock trial, and (3) an example of how to use questioning to guide students through the planning of the mock trial. While a general forensic science unit is provided in the article, a teacher can use the details of the mock trial with any forensic science unit for either middle school or secondary science students.     

Application of Next-generation Sequencing Technology in Forensic Science

Next-generation sequencing （NGS） technology, with its high-throughput capacity and low cost, has developed rapidly in recent years and become an important analytical tool for many genomics researchers. New opportunities in the research domain of the forensic studies emerge by harnessing the power of NGS technology, which can be applied to simultaneously analyzing multi- ple loci of forensic interest in different genetic contexts, such as autosomes, mitochondrial and sex chromosomes. Furthermore, NGS technology can also have potential applications in many other aspects of research. These include DNA database construction, ancestry and phenotypic inference, monozygotic twin studies, body fluid and species identification, and forensic animal, plant and microbiological analyses. Here we review the application of NGS technology in the field of forensic science with the aim of providing a reference for future forensics studies and practice.     

Karl Popper,Forensic Science,and Nested Codes

This paper utilizes the framework of Karl Popper’s 3-world ontology to make the case that forensic science is a specialized coding system that establishes meaningful connections between the world of biology (world 1) and the world of human society (world 3). Forensic science is a cross-disciplinary endeavor that uses scientific methods to determine what transpired in a crime so the legal system can determine how to prosecute the offender(s). On a Popperian analysis of forensic science, world 1 consists of evidence gathered at the crime scene, which enables investigators to develop a detailed reconstruction of the incident for consideration under the legal and ethical codes of society, which are products of world 3. Understanding forensic science in this way serves two purposes: first, it extends Marcello Barbieri’s code biology into the realm of philosophical considerations in science, law and ethics; and second, it situates forensic science within the larger context of debates in contemporary philosophy of science.     

Forensic applications.

The introduction of DNA based identity testing has revolutionized the field of forensic analysis of biological materials. Most of the publications during the past year expand earlier studies that began more than seven years ago, on the properties of DNA recovered from different types of evidential materials; these studies examine the suitability of these samples for identity testing, the effect of different environmental insults the population genetics of loci used for identity testing, and the methods used for statistical analysis of the DNA patterns.     

快速PCR方法在法医DNA检验中的研究进展

目前法医DNA检验应用的短串联重复序列(short tandem repeat,STR)复合扩增系统均依赖于荧光标记的多重PCR方法。常规DNA检验流程包括提取、定量、扩增、分离和检测,而多重PCR扩增常常是整个过程中的限速步骤,完成28~30个循环大约需要3 h。以往常利用商业化的热循环仪和热稳定DNA聚合酶,但需要很长的PCR循环时间才能够确保100~400 bp的目标片段得到有效且均衡的复合扩增。随着各种缩短扩增时间方法的出现,STR复合扩增不再需要3 h,而是可以减少到几十分钟甚至十几分钟。现主要总结了快速PCR、直接PCR、芯片PCR以及其他快速扩增等方法的研究现状与进展,尤其是在法医DNA检验领域,同时对比了几种常见快速PCR扩增方法,可见缩短扩增时间对DNA检验的意义重大。未来,以芯片为主导、快速检验为目的的全自动、便携式、集成化的DNA分析系统,将使得法医DNA检验从实验室走进案件现场,甚至日常生活,实现真正的快速即时检验。     

Forensic fictions: Science,television production,and modern storytelling

This essay uses interviews with television creators, writers, and producers to examine how media practitioners utilise, negotiate and transform forensic science in the production of televisual stories including the creation of unique visuals, character exploration, narrative progression, plot complication, thematic development, and adding a sense of authenticity. Television as a medium has its own structures and conventions, including adherence to a show’s franchise, which put constraints on how stories are told. I demonstrate how television writers find forensic science to be an ideal tool in navigating television’s narrative constraints by using forensics to create conflicts, new obstacles, potential solutions, and final solutions in their stories. I show how television writers utilise forensic science to provide the scientific certainty their characters require to catch the criminal, but also how uncertainty is introduced in a story through the interpretation of the forensics by the show’s characters. I also argue that televisual storytellers maintain a flexible notion of scientific realism based on the notion of possibility that puts them at odds with scientists who take a more demanding conception of scientific accuracy based on the concept of probability.     

微流控芯片电泳及其法医学应用

在光学性能良好的Brofloat玻璃电泳芯片上,利用自行搭建的共聚焦激光诱导荧光检测系统,通过对芯片管道表面修饰、筛分介质、分离电场强度、进样方式、电泳温度、进样时间等条件的优化,对含15个STR基因座的法医DNA样品进行电泳分离测试实验.通过对芯片电泳条件优化获得了本电泳系统的最佳条件,成功实现8 min内完成DNA样品片段的分离,表明该微流控芯片电泳系统在法医DNA快速分析方面具有良好的应用前景.     

中德生物STR荧光ZDgenetype 9+1基因分型试剂盒应用结果分析

目的:确证中德生物STR荧光ZDgenetype 9 1基因分型试剂盒应用于个体基因分型的准确性和重复性。方法:应用中德生物ZDgenetype 9 1 STR荧光基因分型试剂盒扩增100例无关个体样本,建立扩增产物在ABI 310遗传分析仪上基因分型的方法,相同样本扩增结果与AmpFLSTR Identifiler基因分型结果进行比较。结果:ZDgenetype 9 1荧光基因分型试剂盒对100例无关个体血样进行复合扩增并实现了在ABI 310遗传分析仪上进行基因分型,其结果与AmpFLSTR Identifile扩增相同样本的基因分型结果吻合率为100%。结论:中德生物ZDgenetype 9 1 STR荧光基因分型试剂盒适用于法庭科学日常办案和科研使用。