Fingerprints have been a staple of forensic science for decades, providing a reliable (though not perfect) means of identifying suspects and placing people at crime scenes. In recent years, scientists have turned their attention towards exploring the additional information that could be extracted from fingerprints, in particular, chemical information...

A recent study has demonstrated a new technique for the rapid detection of semen and the chemical differentiation of condoms, offering a new potential tool to assist sexual assault investigations. Hundreds of thousands of cases of sexual assault and rape are reported each year, though this is undoubtedly a fraction of the actual number. The successful...

Pangolins are amongst the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world, with hundreds of thousands being slaughtered each year for their meat and scales. In recent months, pangolins have gained extra attention due to their link to the spread of COVID-19, resulting in the Chinese government making efforts to control the use of pangolin scales in traditional...

The discovery of body fluids during forensic investigation can provide countless clues to a crime. Saliva is often countered during certain investigations, particularly in the investigation of sexual assaults and other violent crimes. The wealth of chemical information housed in the complex matrix could provide clues as to who might have left the substance...

A new proof-of-concept study by researchers at the University at Albany in New York has developed a mass spectrometry-based technique for the rapid species prediction of blow fly larvae for use in forensic investigations. Entomological evidence (evidence relating to insects) has proven invaluable to forensic investigations for decades, particularly...

The detection and identification of drugs to demonstrate the use of illicit substances has long since been achieved through the collection and analysis of bodily fluids such as urine or blood. However with the inconvenience and invasiveness of collecting bodily fluids from people combined with the risks associated with handling biological fluids, scientists...