Result of exploring everything

2000/09/19 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biologia

Not all crimes that occur are the same. When affected by sudden craving, there are numerous traces. But other times things are planned more carefully. When there are no biological remains of the author, forensic science must seek alternatives.

Clues that can identify the perpetrator of a crime can be collected everywhere. Pen ink, car paint or explosive remnants contain a lot of information about its origin. For example, in crimes people often attack with tape. The adhesive substance of the tape is also interesting to look for the author's origin. Detectives have models of these substances to be able to compare them in the laboratory.

Intention to analyze it

Because chemical analysis is essential, Lawrence Livermore National's California laboratory is developing a portable device with chromatograph gas and spectrometer. The 20-kilo prototype has begun to be used by FBI technicians. The machine can also detect traces of gases involved in the crime. Livermo researchers continue to improve the prototype.

Crimes with advanced technology are also analyzed. In open doors with force, for example, they usually contain traces of metal rods. The small grain silicon putty is very suitable for "copying" and analyzing these remains. It has a resolution of one tenth of the micrometer and serves to model the computer.

Soil dust is an ideal means to produce footprints. Last year the laser scaner was patented to study fingerprints. It has three legs to work without touching the footprint. This method has many advantages over the method used to date, wet film photography. The scanner has analyzed its first traces this summer.

When the dead are by chance, you want to know when death has occurred. The rotten body can be informed. A Tennessee laboratory investigates the degradation of the biochemical properties of human bodies during this rot process.

More curious research can also reveal the time of decomposition: the study of the threads that eat bodies. The worm species that grows in a body depends on the time and time of year. But because larvae of all species are similar, scientists must grow in the laboratory until metamorphosis occurs. In some cases it is supplemented with the DNA test.