Breakthrough technique could facilitate faster nuclear forensics

A new nuclear forensics technique enabled the rapid analysis of nuclear materials for most of the elements in the periodic table. The tool could one day help nuclear nonproliferation efforts around the globe.
Illustration Credit: generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have, for the first time, used a breakthrough technique with a goal of better identifying the origin of nuclear materials — a tool that could someday help efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear material around the globe.

Using a commercially developed benchtop instrument, called a Laser Ablation Laser Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (LALI-TOF MS), researchers were able to characterize mock nuclear fuel pellets that incorporate specific elemental and isotopic fingerprints. The first laser “blows off” (ablates) a few molecules of material from the sample’s surface, while the second ionizes the neutral particles to turn them into charged ions, which are then separated by their unique mass.

Forensic Science: In-Depth Description

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / stock image AI

Forensic Science is the rigorous application of scientific principles and methods to matters of criminal and civil law is the rigorous application of scientific principles and methods to matters of criminal and civil law. It serves as the critical intersection between the scientific community and the justice system, tasked with the collection, preservation, and analysis of physical evidence to reconstruct events, identify perpetrators or victims, and establish objective facts for legal proceedings.

DNA study targets drug making

Image Credit: Courtesy of Flinders University

DNA profiling technologies are rapidly advancing, creating the potential to identify individuals involved in making, packing and transporting illegal capsules by analyzing the exterior of the illicit drugs and the ziplock plastic bag in which they are carried.

Experiments carried out by Flinders University forensic science experts found DNA accumulates in different areas, depending on an individual’s involvement in the process, which could aid identification of people involved in the drug-making and trade.

The study also found DNA from the surface of capsules can be transferred to the inner surface of ziplock bags commonly used in transportation.

Plucking key evidence from air

PhD candidate Emily Bibbo and Dr Mariya Goray at the DNA forensics research room at Flinders University.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flinders University

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Human DNA can be successfully recovered from air-conditioning units and airborne particles, enabling the identification of individuals in a room even after surfaces have been wiped clean of fingerprints or touch DNA.
• Methodology: Researchers conducted a pilot study sampling air-conditioning units in four offices and four homes, while also testing portable air collection devices with various filters to measure DNA collection efficacy across different timeframes and occupancy levels.
• Key Data: While 62% of forensic casework in 2020 involved trace evidence with often poor success rates, this study confirmed that air-conditioning units retain DNA from previous users, whereas active air sampling effectively captures DNA from recent occupants.
• Significance: This technique offers a critical forensic breakthrough by allowing investigators to detect the presence of offenders who use countermeasures, such as wearing gloves or cleaning surfaces, by targeting aerosolized skin cells and saliva.
• Future Application: Law enforcement agencies may incorporate air sampling devices or HVAC swabbing into crime scene processing protocols to establish a suspect's presence when traditional physical evidence is absent or destroyed.
• Branch of Science: Forensic Science
• Additional Detail: The study suggests that while air samples represent a snapshot of recent activity, the components of air-conditioning units act as a historical archive, preserving the genetic profiles of past room users.

Decomposition under the microscope

Lara Indra photographically documenting an animal cadaver. Attached to the tree trunk and behind the researcher are camera traps; an insect trap is positioned to the left.
Photo Credit: Sandra Lösch / Dept. of Anthropology, IRM, University of Bern

Researchers at the University of Bern have investigated the process of decomposition on pig carcasses left in nature. The researchers discovered that the previous standard method for assessing decomposition in Switzerland needs to be adapted – with an impact on forensic analysis. The method presented by the researchers aims to better determine the post-mortem interval.

A dead body decomposes with the help of various organisms – such as intestinal bacteria, flies, maggots and beetles. This makes it difficult to establish the post-mortem interval of cadavers in forensics: the more advanced the decomposition, the harder it is to determine the time of death. Therefore, various methods have the goal of correlating the degree of decomposition with the postmortem interval. With respect to this, the body is divided into three areas – the head and neck, the trunk and the extremities – and its condition is assessed using a point value system. The findings from the three areas are then added together, resulting in the total body score (TBS).