Ask a Forensic Scientist anything

989 Questions

Last Answer on July 21, 2022

Where you ever shocked by a crime scene?

Asked by Denise_ot5 over 6 years ago

They’re all shocking, in their way, But there hasn’t been one in particular that bowled me over.

How long will latent prints last when ninhydrin is used?

Asked by Krissy about 6 years ago

I'm not sure what you mean: a) how long after a print is left will ninhydrin still detect it, in which case I can say from my own experiment that there's little rhyme or reason to this, sometimes older prints develop better than newer ones or vice versa, or b) how long does a print developed with ninhydrin last, and the answer to that is that ninhydrin is a dark purple dye, so it is permanent, though it will continue to develop so that the entire page may eventually turn purple so we use a fixative chemical on the now-visible print so that will stop the ninhydrin from darkening the paper further. I hope that helps!

556 Votes

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if a person licks their fingers in order to aid them in counting money, counts the money and hands ti to another individual who places that money in their bra. Can there be saliva dna transfer to the breast?

Asked by angie over 6 years ago

I suppose that’s theoretically possible, but I wouldn’t think it likely. The saliva would sink into the paper of the money quickly, and then when swabbing the person’s skin you’d have to happen on the exact spot where that tiny bit of saliva transferred to.

I hope that helps!

556 Votes

Oh, also how can you tell if someone makes a new account?

Asked by Sam over 5 years ago

I don’t know.

556 Votes

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Is your average criminal usually as dull as the media makes them out to me. Like multiple offenders and low level gangsters.

Asked by 782346 almost 7 years ago

I may not be the best to ask since I'm not really on the front lines, I come in after the action is over, but in my opinion, yes. You don't get criminal masterminds in real life.

555 Votes

What does death smell like and why? Do different people smell different?

Asked by asdf over 5 years ago

It all depends on the circumstances of the death (fire victims can have a smoke smell, of course) but mostly the degree of decomposition. That's the only thing that makes a difference, otherwise everyone is the same.

555 Votes