LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
Did it every day. If it bothers you, you probably don't want to work there. Though our lunchroom was on an upper floor so there was no sight, just sometimes smells.
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That's not something I have anything to do with--it's the detectives' and/or attorneys' decision. I supposed they think if they get results that are really surprising it can hint if they're looking at the right people or not.
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"Touch" DNA or "Contact DNA" can obtain a profile from an item that someone merely touched: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_DNA
I would say Rapid DNA, which can provide a profile in less than two hours and used in the battlefield, but that's been around since 2014.
And though you've seen it on TV every day for 50 years, it has not been possible for the average latent print examiner to scan in a fingerprint and search every person who's ever been fingerprinted, including job applicants and military. Most databases would be just county or state wide, and may or may not include job applicants (or staff) depending on the preferences of the agency, and certainly not the military, ICE or Interpol. At my department we only got the ability to remotely search the FBI database last year.
Hope that helps!
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I'm not familiar with those terms. Sorry I can't help!
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Hairstylist and Makeup Artist
What types of clients are the worst to deal with?
Obstetrician Gynecologist
Has being an OBGYN affected your own beliefs about when "life" begins?
Certified Nurse Aide
Are there social cliques (like "cool kids") in old folks homes?
Either is good. It depends a bit on what you want to do. If you want to work crime scene, then general forensic science is probably good. If you want to go into toxicology, then chemistry, and if DNA, then biology or genetics.
Hope that helps.
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No, nothing is cleaned. It’s just dried and then kept as is. For one thing you might want to do more testing in the future so you’d never want to wash your evidence away.
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That depends entirely on the circumstances. If a sample of anything--blood, saliva, semen--is properly dried and kept in relatively dry conditions at a steady low temperature, or even frozen, it can last for decades. If the temperature and humidity vary greatly, then the sample could break down. If it's stored in plastic or airtight when wet it could rot and decompose.
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