LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
It depends on what you want to do. I've always used only basic addition, division etc., for calculating reagents. Accident reconstruction would probably require a bit more and maybe DNA analysis, but I don't really know. Best of luck!
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How does that question relate to forensics?
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I can't think of any one in particular that was the most 'complicated'--many were difficult and complicated for different reasons. Forensics is only part of the whole investigation, so things really get much more complicated for the detectives who not only have to absorb the information we're giving them but deal with victims, witnesses, suspects, documentation, records, warrants and prosecutors. I worked one where the victim had been taken to three different places before the body was dumped and burned, so there were indoor scenes, outdoor scenes, the suspect's house to deal with. Right now we're dealing with one that spans 30 years, so trying to find reports and piece together who did what and when and what, if anything, still remains to be done. And we had one earlier this year that had inexplicable behavior by about 9 different people over three days and all to cover up an accidental death. Hope that helps.
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Either is good. It depends a bit on what you want to do. If you want to work crime scene, then general forensic science is probably good. If you want to go into toxicology, then chemistry, and if DNA, then biology or genetics.
Hope that helps.
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Pharmacist
Why is an advanced degree required to dole out pills at a pharmacy?
Birthday Party Clown
OK seriously, how DOES the clown car thing work?
Parcel Delivery Mailman
Does labeling a package "fragile" actually lead to you handling it with more care?
Quite the contrary, I find myself apologizing to them if I bump into their gurney. They’re dead. How could I not feel sorry for them?Both my department and the various forensic organizations of which I am a member have published codes of ethics to which I have always adhered.
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"Touch" DNA or "Contact DNA" can obtain a profile from an item that someone merely touched: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_DNA
I would say Rapid DNA, which can provide a profile in less than two hours and used in the battlefield, but that's been around since 2014.
And though you've seen it on TV every day for 50 years, it has not been possible for the average latent print examiner to scan in a fingerprint and search every person who's ever been fingerprinted, including job applicants and military. Most databases would be just county or state wide, and may or may not include job applicants (or staff) depending on the preferences of the agency, and certainly not the military, ICE or Interpol. At my department we only got the ability to remotely search the FBI database last year.
Hope that helps!
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I am an expert in some areas of forensic science. I am not an expert in law, public safety policy or our political system.
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