21 Facts About Forensics

1.

Forensics devised methods for making antiseptic and for promoting the reappearance of hidden injuries to dead bodies and bones ; for calculating the time of death ; described how to wash and examine the dead body to ascertain the reason for death.

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2.

Forensics's had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault.

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3.

Forensics's work was expanded upon, in 1806, by German chemist Valentin Ross, who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach.

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4.

Forensics was called by the prosecution in a murder trial to give evidence as a chemist in 1832.

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5.

Forensics combined a sample containing arsenic with sulfuric acid and arsenic-free zinc, resulting in arsine gas.

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6.

Forensics first described this test in The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal in 1836.

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7.

Forensics noticed a flaw in the bullet that killed the victim and was able to trace this back to the mold that was used in the manufacturing process.

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8.

Forensics established their first classification and was the first to identify fingerprints left on a vial.

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9.

Forensics had calculated that the chance of a "false positive" was about 1 in 64 billion.

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10.

Forensics concluded that there was no match between the samples and Buckland, who became the first person to be exonerated using DNA.

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11.

Forensics went on to found the Institute of Criminalistics in 1912, as part of the University of Graz' Law School.

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12.

Forensics formulated the basic principle of forensic science: "Every contact leaves a trace", which became known as Locard's exchange principle.

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13.

Forensics remains a great inspiration for forensic science, especially for the way his acute study of a crime scene yielded small clues as to the precise sequence of events.

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14.

Forensics made great use of trace evidence such as shoe and tire impressions, as well as fingerprints, ballistics and handwriting analysis, now known as questioned document examination.

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15.

Forensics used analytical chemistry for blood residue analysis as well as toxicology examination and determination for poisons.

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16.

Forensics used ballistics by measuring bullet calibres and matching them with a suspected murder weapon.

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17.

Forensics used anthropometry for identification, stating that, since each individual is unique, by measuring aspects of physical difference there could be a personal identification system.

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18.

Forensics created the Bertillon System around 1879, a way of identifying criminals and citizens by measuring 20 parts of the body.

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19.

Forensics's lobbied to have coroners replaced by medical professionals, endowed the Harvard Associates in Police Science, and conducted many seminars to educate homicide investigators.

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20.

Forensics's created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, intricate crime scene dioramas used to train investigators, which are still in use today.

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21.

Forensics realized the scope of DNA fingerprinting, which uses variations in the genetic code to identify individuals.

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