Evidence large or even small, is still crucial to any investigation. Most of the time evidence can be so small that it can’t necessarily been seen to the human naked eye. Through various techniques of visualization, collection and preservation, hair and fur evidence has made its debut in the forensic science world and in court rooms.
Human hair and fur from animals have a lot of similar and yet different characteristics. For instance human hair is normally consistent in color and pigmentation throughout the length of the hair shaft. The color and pigmentation is evenly distributed or slightly denser toward the cuticle. The human hair grows out of a tube like structure called a hair follicle. Human hair is also primarily composed of keratin (Girard, 2013 pg 92). The shaft of each hair consists of three layers which include the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. The cuticle of the hair is a translucent outer layer of the hair shaft.
The cuticle is made up with three different types of scales that cover the shaft: coronal, spinous and imbricate scales. The cortex is the main body of the hair and it is composed of elongated spindle-shaped cells. Sometimes the cortex “may contain cortical fusi, pigment granules, and/or large oval-to-round-shaped structures called ovoid bodies (Deedrick, 2004).” Ovid bodies are mainly found in animal fur and are extremely rare to be found in human hair. Finally in human hair, the medulla is the central core of cells that could be present in the hair. The medulla is generally shapeless in appearance. Its structure can be described as fragmentary (incomplete) or trace, discontinuous/broken or continuous.
Unlike human hair, animal fur “can have radical color changes in a short distance, which is ca...
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...justice where it’s called for.
References
Bureau of Forensic Sciences. (n.d.) Collection of Fiber and Hair Evidence. California Department of Justice. Physical Evidence Bulletin
Deedrick, Douglas. W. (2004). Microscopy of hair part II: A practical guide and manual for animal hairs. Forensic Science Communications. Vol. 6(3).
Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science- communications/fsc/july2004/research/2004_03_research02.htm
Girard, James. E. (2013). Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime and Terrorism. Jones & Bartlett Learning. 3 e.d. 92-97
Scientific Working Group on Materials Analysis. (1999). Trace evidence recovery guidelines. Forensic Science Communications. Vol. 1(3). 1.0-5.5.3 Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science- communications/fsc/oct1999/trace.htm/#4.0.%20Contamination%20and%20Loss
Forensic Science Introduction: Someone in a restaurant has suddenly fallen ill and a mystery powder has been discovered with the victim. As the chief investigator, your duty is to identify the mystery substance through a lab. In this lab, it will consist of five known compounds and one unknown compound. Your job is to distinguish which one out of the five substances is the mystery powder. To figure out the mystery matter you will have to compare their physical and chemical properties and match them with the appropriate compound.
Just because a hair is found at the scene doesn’t mean that it belongs to the perpetrator. It is important to take Locard’s Principle into account, “The microscopic debris that cover our bodies are the mute witnesses... of all our movements and all our encounters.” (Robertson, 7.2) When you come into contact with something or someone, there is always a transfer, even if it isn’t noticeable. There are different types of transferring, primary and secondary. Primary transfer is when something transfers from you to another source. When someone comes into contact with that source, there is a chance that your hair or fiber transfers onto the other person. This is secondary transfer. Because humans shed hair frequently, it is easy for hair to go through secondary transfer and end up somewhere that the individual had never been. Hair can remain on a source for a couple hours without being transferred and it does not break down very easily, so this can remain in place for a long time. (Robertson,
the DNA from the roots of the hair. The replicated DNA samples were then placed into the
The texture of her hair was somehow both firm and soft, springy, with the clean, fresh scent of almonds. It was a warm black, and sunlight was caught in each kink and crinkle, so that up close there was a lot of purple and blue. I could feel how, miraculously, each lock wove itself into a flat or rounded pattern shortly after it left her scalp- a machine could not have done it with more precision- so that the “matting” I had assumed was characteristics of dreadlocks could be more accurately be described as “knitting”. (Walker 232)
In conclusion, the question of how hair texture among an ethnicity is determined has yet to be answered. However, new developments such as the evidence that all humans have the same single origin in Africa and mutations in the P2RY5 gene can determine the hair texture of a human, have shown that researchers are quite close in determining the hair texture of an ethnicity. These developments have the possibility of leading to new hair removal and hair growth treatments. The future looks bright for hair research and hopefully in the next 20-50 years the question is answered.
is about 1000 nm wide, a human hair is about 100,000 nm wide. (Marchant, G. E. 231)
... tested hairs and other parts for DNA and concluded that they fit into our family tree. “ Those hair samples that could not be identified as known animal or human were subsequently screened using DNA testing, beginning with sequencing of mitochondrial DNA followed by sequencing nuclear DNA to determine where these individuals fit in the tree of life” (Ketchum 2013).
Hair grows about half an inch per month to six inches a year but can vary depending on the person. First, what exactly is hair? Based on WebMD, hair is made up of an extremely strong protein called keratin which is also found in the human skin, nails, and teeth. Expert cosmopolitan Cunnane Phillips explained that there are three different types of hair growth phases that an individuals hair goes through. The first phase is called anagen. This is the growth phase...
On the night of January 13, 2013, Jeffrey Wright was killed after causing his wife, Susan Wright, years of distress and abuse. His body was disfigured after being stabbed approximately 193 times. The body lay on his former mattress which had become blood-soaked and cut up. Attached to his wrists are ties which had been used to anchor him to the bed, making him unable to escape. His last visual memory was the sight of his wife hovering over him with a knife, wondering how she had been able to do what she was about to do. How could she, his wife, betray him and kill him with no remorse?
Forensic evidence can provide just outcomes in criminal matters. However, it is not yet an exact science as it can be flawed. It can be misrepresented through the reliability of the evidence, through nonstandard guidelines, and through public perception. Forensic science can be dangerously faulty without focus on the ‘science’ aspect. It can at times be just matching patterns based on an individual’s interpretations. This can lead to a miscarriage of justice and forever alter a person’s life due to a perceived “grey area” (Merritt C, 2010) resulting in a loss of confidence in the reliability of forensic evidence.
Hair growth takes place in three phases the anogen phase, the catagen phase, and the telogen phase. The first phase to take place, the anogen stage, can last anywhere from three to seven years. During this stage, hair grows at an average rate of 1 centimeter per month which adds up to around 12 centimeters or 1 inch per year. It is also during this stage that melanin, the pigment that gives hair color, is created. As people get older, follicles gradually give up producing thick, strong hair. As a result, hair becomes thinner and shorter; baldness may even occur. The next phase in hair growth is the catagen phase which takes place anywhere from two to four weeks. During this stage, the base of the follicle moves from underneath the skin to the face and rests near the opening of the sebaceous duct until it is ready to begin growing. This growing takes place during the telogen phase which lasts anywhere from three to four months. During this stage, new hair begins to grow from the hair follicle. As it grows upwards, the old hair will be shed naturally or may be pulled out. This shedding of telogen hairs happens easily and painlessly; these are the hairs that fall out when a person is shampooi...
Forensics Anthropology is the study that goes beyond the human skeleton. A forensics anthropologist can find out. How a person lived, the food that person ate, and the overall make-up of a human. The use of forensics has grown in recent years, it is used to solve crimes and locate missing persons. Snow, (1982) Forensics anthropology is not a new science. The first case forensics anthropology was used on was the Jezebel case, dating back to the nineteenth century. This case involved a person, who was thrown from a window. Snow, (1982) The remains found in this case were the skull, feet, and the palm of the victim’s hands.
Forensic Science, recognized as Forensics, is the solicitation of science to law to understand evidences for crime investigation. Forensic scientists are investigators that collect evidences at the crime scene and analyse it uses technology to reveal scientific evidence in a range of fields. Physical evidence are included things that can be seen, whether with the naked eye or through the use of magnification or other analytical tools. Some of this evidence is categorized as impression evidence2.In this report I’ll determine the areas of forensic science that are relevant to particular investigation and setting out in what method the forensic science procedures I have recognized that would be useful for the particular crime scene.
For many years, I coveted anyone's hair that was anything that my hair wasn't. Despite our differences, we have come to a mutual understanding. And, now, I can say, with some confidence, that my hair and I are friends, not just forced to be together because of genetics. But I can admit this only after years of hard lessons and experience.
Forensic science has now been recognized as an important part of the law enforcement team to help solve crimes and cold cases. The advances in technology are being used each day and we must continue to strive to develop better advances in this field. The recent discovery of using DNA in criminal cases has helped not only positively identify the suspect, but it has helped exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals. “With new advances in police technology and computer science, crime scene investigation and forensic science will only become more precise as we head into the future.” (Roufa, 2017) Forensic science and evidence helps law enforcement officials solve crimes through the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence. By having a mobile crime laboratory, the scene gets processed quicker and more efficiently. Forensic science will only grow in the future to be a benefit for the criminal justice