Analysis In Forensic Science

The course that I am studying in GMIT is Forensic Science and Analysis. Forensic science refers to the scientific methods and processes that are used in solving crimes. Mathematics is critical in science and often goes hand in hand with it as mathematics can assist scientists in forming concepts and theories. Without mathematics there would be no formulas in science and it would make the work of scientists significantly harder. Mathematics has contributed significantly over the years to the development and to the work done in Forensic Science especially. Mathematics is used to determine how crimes are committed, when crimes are committed, and even who committed the crime. Mathematics plays a part in many different aspects of it, such as statistics,

It continued to be used throughout the 1990’s when Argentina became the first country to create a genetic database. This was specifically set up to identify missing children. Following this, in the early 2000’s crime investigation took a largely DNA-led approach. It was used successive of the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. These two events significantly increased the use of DNA analysis in forensic science. Interpol (2014) developed guidelines that related the best practice of human remain identification following situations that stemmed from the forensic community. Interpol is a global police organization that enables police in various different countries to simultaneously work at making the world a safer place for everyone. Forensic DNA databases are an important investigative resource used in the modern day justice system. The computerized storage of DNA profiles as part of a database allows the systematic matching of crime scene samples with personal profiles. DNA has four bases, adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. These bases are grouped accordingly creating combinations of 3 symbols, called triplets. There are 4x4x4=64 possible outcomes. Weak hydrogen bonds hold complementary bases together. These base pairs

Times of death can be categorized in three ways: physiological time of death in which the victim’s body ceased to function, estimated time of death which is the best guess based on all available information at the time, and the legal time of death- the time at which the body was discovered of pronounced dead by a witness. This is the time that is shown on the death certificate. One method that is used in estimating times of death is to measure body temperature. The equation for this is 37.5°C – 1.5°C. This equation shows the normal body temperature of 37.5°C and demonstrates that the body to losing 1.5°C per hour until the temperature of the body and the external environment are at the same temperature. The most common ways of taking the temperature of the deceased is to either use a rectal thermometer or to take a reading from the liver, which can achieve a more accurate internal temperature. Rigor Mortis is also a quite accurate way of measuring the time of death. It usually occurs in smaller muscles first and then makes its way through the body. This process starts usually two hours after death and can last for twenty to thirty hours. It is the most commonly used way of estimating death. Forensic Entomology (the study of insects) is also used in estimating times of death. By studying the insects at the crime scene the forensic scientist can establish an accurate time of death