Science Thursday

As forensic DNA technology improves, concerns about contamination increase; a Texas drug analyst alleges she was fired for whistle-blowing; and Dr. Henry Lee discusses the complexity of forensic interpretation.   Here’s a roundup of this week’s forensics news:

As forensic DNA becomes increasingly important to solving criminal cases and as the technology is able to exploit smaller and smaller samples of DNA, it also

raises concerns of DNA contamination

.

A former Austin Police Department crime lab drug analyst

filed a complaint

alleging she was fired for questioning the lab’s accreditation status and for suggesting that drug tests were dry-labbed.

A Florida bank robber was identified by authorities using

fingerprints found on the ransom note

.

Of the 15 members of the biology section at Ontario’s Centre of Forensic Sciences,

14 are women

.

Dr. Henry Lee, who specializes in solving cold cases, cautions that

forensic evidence is not always black and white

and that interpretation is complex.