Articles Published by NIJ

Analyzing illicit drugs such as methamphetamine is difficult because the drugs break down when heated in gas chromatographs. Investigators determined that a new method can avoid the heat issue and improve results.

Identifying individuals through next generation DNA sequencing may involve degraded or mixed samples. A researcher has developed a technique to make fragmented DNA more readable, and a method to help pull individual profiles from mixed samples.

The forensic power of DNA is clear, but biological evidence also contains RNA, another potential source of information. Because RNA decomposes quickly, its utility is considered limited. Could this decomposition provide information about a sample’s age?

The regions of the genome relied on for identification of individuals pose challenges for analysts because they often produce artifacts during processing. NIJ-funded research has led to a solution that lessens the artifact problem.

NIJ-funded researchers adapted a method used to detect human exposure to environmental and occupational chemicals to significantly extend the limited time period when tests can identify evidence of certain illicit drugs in the body.

Forensic scientists have explored whether lifted and archived fingerprints retain forensically useful amounts of DNA.

Investigators in two NIJ-supported studies have demonstrated that people carry unique microbial communities on their skin, and traces of those communities, left on touched objects, can be linked to the individual.

Scientific inquiry into the process of decomposition has studied a wide range of mammals and developed a fundamental understanding of the stages of decomposition, but forensic scientists should use caution in applying nonhuman data to human bodies.

In this study, NIJ-funded researchers examined how Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners can use a practitioner-oriented evaluation toolkit to assess the impact of their programs.

After analyzing individual blood droplets on inclined surfaces, researchers in this NIJ-funded project said measurements show the current standard method is accurate for drops that hit at right angles but has significant errors at shallow impact angles.

Researchers investigate the potential of using isotopes in specific amino acids in human hair as a forensic tool to provide information about an individual's age, sex, race, body mass, genetic disorders, health, and region of origin.

An NIJ-funded study explored injury and forensic evidence in sexual assault cases using data from different types of medical examiners, laboratories, and the police.

Fiber evidence has long been an important part of criminal cases, for it can associate a suspect with a crime scene. This project details new analytical procedures that allow fiber comparisons that are more detailed than standard forensic practices.

Researchers create a metric to determine the difficulty of matching latent and known fingerprints, then link that difficulty to error rates.

Identifying a new drug that is very similar in structure to other drugs is important for investigators. Researchers in this project determined that these drugs may be better separated using ultra high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography.

Synthetic cathinones, a class of mood-altering stimulants popular among recreational drug users, can be unstable when stored in blood or urine samples, and may be problematic when used as evidence in court.

There is no standard method of detailed documentation of the latent print examination process, but researchers have developed software that improves the standardization and quantifiability, implemented as part of the FBI’s Universal Latent Workstation.

Two researchers with a long record of research into the forensic value of very small particle populations examined cell phones, handguns, drug packaging, and ski masks from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office to determine if such particles can make phys