Episode 107 | Just Flies and Their Artifacts

Just Flies and Their Artifacts In episode nine of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. David Rivers, a professor at Loyola University, about the detection of insect stains and the development of a quantifiable confirmatory test for fly contamination of bloodstain evidence. There are roughly 86,000 species of flies that have been identified […]

Episode 106 | Just Raman Spectroscopy and GSR

Just Raman Spectroscopy and GSR In episode eight of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Igor Lednev, professor of Chemistry at the University of Albany, about using Raman Microspectroscopy and advanced statistics for detecting and characterizing gunshot residue. Raman Spectroscopy is known as one of the most selective spectroscopic techniques because of the […]

Episode 105 | Just Putrid Databases

Just Putrid Databases In episode seven of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Audris Mockus, a Professor in the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, about an Image Cloud Platform for Use in Tagging and Research on Decomposition database. Over the last few decades, researchers at the University of […]

Episode 104 | Just Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction

Just Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction In episode six of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Jorn Yu, professor at Sam Houston State University, about the chemical analysis of controlled substances using automated headspace solid phase microextraction. Developed in the 1990s, headspace solid phase microextraction isn’t necessarily a novel technique. While it is a […]

Episode 103 | Just Screening Blood and Urine

Just Screening Blood and Urine In episode five of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Rebecca Wagner, a researcher at the Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences in Richmond, about a comparison of two validated LC/MS methods for the quantitative analysis of opioids, cocaine, and cocaine metabolites in biological matrices.  The state of Virginia is not […]

Episode 102 | Just Detecting Gunshot Residue

<<< back to all podcasts Just Detecting Gunshot Residue In episode four of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Suzanne Bell, Professor and Chair of the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University, to discuss a method for consistent single-shot detection of organic and inorganic gunshot residue.  Smaller crime labs often […]

Episode 101 | Just RNA and Bloodstains

Just RNA and Bloodstains In episode three of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Robert Allen, professor and head of the Forensic Sciences Department at Oklahoma State University, about a method to estimate the age of bloodstains using quantitative PCR. Traditionally, RNA has been used to identify types of cells and to determine […]

Episode 100 | Just Fundamental Mechanics and Infant Skull Fractures

Just Fundamental Mechanics and Infant Skull Fractures In episode two of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Brittany Coats, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, about her efforts to use fundamental mechanics to predict infant skull fracture patterns. Over 600,000 children suffer from abuse or neglect each year. The […]

Episode 99 | Just Skin Deep

Just Skin Deep In episode one of the 2019 R&D season, Just Science interviews Dr. Katherine Scafide and Dr. Daniel Sheridan about their use of Alternative Light Sources for the detection and assessment of cutaneous bruising. Until the 1990s, it was commonly believed that clinicians and forensic professionals could estimate a bruise’s age by analyzing its […]

Episode Ninety-Eight| Just The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance

Just The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, aims to create a coordinated community response that ensures justice and resolution to sexual assault cases by utilizing a comprehensive and victim-centered approach. With 54 sites nationwide, SAKI has had a […]