How old is that fingerprint?
Forensic dramas on TV make it seem easy to determine when fingerprints were left at the scene of a crime. In reality, the oils in fingerprints degrade over time, and it's difficult to figure out their...
View ArticleLaw enforcement is hampering harm reduction programs, North Carolina study finds
In 2016, North Carolina enacted legislation providing legal protections to people who make use of programs designed to reduce harms associated with illegal drug use. However, a new study finds these...
View ArticleMaintaining green parks and gardens in cities has the potential to lower the...
Maintaining green parks and gardens in cities has the potential to lower the risk of crime, research suggests. More green space in a city is linked with lower risk of crime against property -- such as...
View ArticleMedical privacy of forensic samples questioned
Watch any episode of 'CSI,' and a character will use forensic DNA profiling to identify a criminal. A new study suggests that these forensic profiles may indirectly reveal medical information --...
View ArticleAmber fossils from Myanmar
Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia, is plagued by political and economic crises. The fall of a president, a military putsch and the crackdown on religious minorities have had an impact not only on...
View ArticleMass school shootings are not caused by mental illness, study finds
The researchers suggest that mass school shootings are different from other forms of mass murder, and that they should be looked at as a distinct phenomenon. Factors other than severe mental illness...
View ArticleAutomatic speaker recognition technology outperforms human listeners in the...
The forensic-voice-comparison system, based on state-of-the-art automatic-speaker-recognition technology, outperformed all the listeners.
View ArticleBetter eyewitness lineup improves accuracy, detecting innocence
Researchers have developed and repeatedly tested a procedure that captures more information from eyewitnesses and improves the accuracy of lineups in police investigations.
View ArticleGoing beyond English is critical for conservation
Research in languages other than English is critically important for biodiversity conservation and is shockingly under-utilized internationally, according to an international research team.
View ArticleCan investigators use household dust as a forensic tool?
It is possible to retrieve forensically relevant information from human DNA in household dust.
View ArticleRobots and Rights: Confucianism Offers Alternative
As robots assume more roles in the world, a new analysis reviewed research on robot rights, concluding that granting rights to robots is a bad idea. Instead, the article looks to Confucianism to offer...
View ArticleForensics lab cracks case on newer, 'greener' gunshot residue
Discoveries by forensic scientists about how gunshot residue behaves on skin, hair and fabric will allow crime scene investigators to catch up to the proliferation of new, eco-friendly types of...
View ArticleConservation in Indonesia is at risk, a team of researchers who study the...
Indonesia, home to the largest tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia and over 17,500 islands, is a country packed with biodiversity and endangered species. However, scientists studying the region's...
View ArticleBillions in conservation spending fail to improve wild fish stocks in...
Four decades of conservation spending totaling more than $9 billion in inflation-adjusted tax dollars has failed to improve stocks of wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin.
View ArticleEarly-life lead exposure linked to higher risk of criminal behavior in...
An evaluation of 17 previously published studies suggests that exposure to lead in the womb or in childhood is associated with an increased risk of engaging in criminal behavior in adulthood -- but...
View ArticleManaging domestic and wildcats is likely to remain fraught, new research warns
Current efforts to protect and restore native biodiversity is being threatened by difficulties in identifying wild and domestic cats, and categorization is likely to remain fraught for the foreseeable...
View ArticleEffectiveness of video gameplay restrictions questioned in new study
Legal restrictions placed on the amount of time young people in China can play video games may be less effective than originally thought, a new study has revealed.
View ArticleWhy childhood adversity impacts how a person's behavior is judged
It's human nature to be judgmental. But why do we place less blame on someone, or give more praise, if we find out that person had a history of suffering in childhood? In a recent study, researchers...
View ArticleKindergarten conduct problems could cost society later, researchers find
A new economic analysis has linked, for the first time, conduct problems among kindergarten students with significant costs to society in terms of crime and associated medical expenses and lost...
View ArticleProtecting lands slows biodiversity loss among vertebrates by five times
Protecting large swaths of Earth's land can help stem the tide of biodiversity loss -- especially when those protected areas are in less disturbed landscapes and in countries with effective national...
View ArticleResearchers blow whistle on forensic science method
If forensic experts have access to a suspect's gun, they can compare the microscopic markings from discarded shell casings with those found at a crime scene. Finding and reporting a mismatch can help...
View ArticleForensic evidence can survive underwater for weeks
Forensic fibers can survive underwater for much longer than previously thought -- which could help criminal investigators uncover vital evidence. New research has found that fiber evidence can survive...
View ArticleCat-ching criminals with DNA from pet hairs
Cat hair could be the purr-fect way to catch criminals, according to researchers.
View ArticleNew scientific methods for analyzing criminal careers
Researchers have examined 1.2 million criminal incidents and developed an innovative method to identify patterns in criminal trajectories.
View ArticleHow bloodstain 'tails' can point to significant, additional forensic details
Scientists demonstrate how bloodstains can yield valuable details by examining the protrusions that deviate from the boundaries of otherwise elliptical bloodstains. The researchers studied how these...
View ArticleCan AI be too good to use?
Much of the discussion around implementing artificial intelligence systems focuses on whether an AI application is 'trustworthy': Does it produce useful, reliable results, free of bias, while ensuring...
View ArticleStudy shows background checks don't always check out
New research shows that background checks for employment, housing and more can be highly problematic.
View ArticleAdvances in forensic science improve accuracy of 'time of death' estimates
Accurate 'time of death' estimates are a mainstay of murder mysteries and forensic programs, but such calculations in the real world are often complex and imprecise. In a first-of-its-kind study,...
View ArticleNew simpler and cost-effective forensics test helps identify touch DNA
Research has found a less expensive and easier to use test to learn more about forensic touch DNA. This research has important implications for forensic investigations and being able to identify DNA...
View ArticleLaws that punish drug use during pregnancy likely lead to worse health...
Contrary to some claims, laws that criminalize or otherwise punish drug use during pregnancy are more likely to worsen rather than improve health outcomes. The study is the first to systematically...
View ArticleReducing late-night alcohol sales curbed all violent crimes by 23% annually...
New study findings suggest that shortening overnight operations by seven hours at bars and taverns in a Baltimore, Md. neighborhood resulted in a 51 percent immediate drop in homicides within the first...
View ArticleResearch shows direct link between state income taxes and migration
A new study looks at 110 years of income tax history across the U.S. and notes out-migration by wealthy Americans.
View ArticleLaser technology offers breakthrough in detecting illegal ivory
A new way of quickly distinguishing between illegal elephant ivory and legal mammoth tusk ivory could prove critical to fighting the illegal ivory trade. A laser-based approach could be used by customs...
View ArticleStudy shows how justice facility dogs benefit wellbeing for children facing...
A new study has revealed that having a four-legged friend at Children's Court significantly reduces stress and anxiety for young victims, witnesses, and their caregivers.
View ArticleA novel approach to tracking conservation reveals more areas may be conserved...
An international team of conservation researchers and practitioners has developed an inclusive inventory approach for tracking global conservation areas, with an emphasis on local data and expertise....
View ArticleBoosting biodiversity without hurting local economies
Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what is...
View ArticleImproving identification of human remains using craniofacial superimposition
Researchers propose an improvement in the identification of human remains using craniofacial superimposition. The forensic identification technique is based on the analysis of a skull (post-mortem) and...
View ArticlePeople's moral values change with the seasons
A new psychology study has revealed regular seasonal shifts in people's moral values. The research analyzed survey responses from more than 230,000 people in the U.S. over 10 years and revealed that...
View ArticleStudy explains why laws are written in an incomprehensible style
A new study on 'legalese' suggests this convoluted language acts to convey a sense of authority in legal documents. The researchers also found that even non-lawyers use legalese when asked to write laws.
View ArticleHow to catch a criminal using their 'skin shedder' profile
A pioneering new DNA forensics technique is looking for a reliable method to measure a suspect's individual level of natural shedding of skin and other cells to add to, and compare with, evidence...
View ArticleGeographic differences in U.S. homicide rates have decreased since the 1970s
A new study finds that, counter to expectations, geographic disparities in rates of homicides in the US have decreased in recent decades.
View ArticleNew method for fingerprint analysis holds great promise
Overlapping and weak fingerprints pose challenges in criminal cases. A new study offers a solution and brings hope for using chemical residues in fingerprints for personal profiling.
View ArticleChronic pain patients are more supportive of cannabis access than doctors
A study reveals a gap between patient and physician attitudes on medical marijuana policies.
View ArticleTransition to low-carbon futures: New research uncovers rise in legal...
As the global push towards low-carbon societies accelerates, a new study reveals that justice concerns are increasingly surfacing in legal disputes over climate policies and projects. This phenomenon,...
View ArticleEnvironmental law reform needed to protect endangered marine species
Researchers are calling for reforms to Australia's environmental laws, as threatened fish species continue to be legally exported.
View ArticleSmaller, more specific academic journals have more sway over policy
Journals focused on ferns, clams, or coral reefs had proportionally more of their articles cited by the federal government when protecting species than more prominent, higher-impact journals. The...
View ArticleThe transformative power of movies
Docudrama can lead people to be more empathetic toward people who are stigmatized in society, a new study finds.
View ArticleNearly 6 percent of pregnant women report marijuana use, U.S. study finds
A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not...
View ArticleGPS system for microorganisms could revolutionize police work
A research team developed an AI tool that traces back the most recent places you have been to. The tool acts like a satellite navigation system, but instead of guiding you to your hotel, it identifies...
View ArticleUganda: Major survey brings new light to carnivore conservation
Lion numbers in the country are at a critical low while hyenas are faring well across four major protected areas in Uganda, according to new survey findings.
View Article