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.
I would try oblique lighting—try laying the piece down as flat as possible and then hold a flashlight to the side so the light beam travels across the piece instead of down onto it. Adjust the light to where it’s the most helpful. With the ziploc bag you might also put a piece of dark paper inside it to increase the constraint. That’s all I can think of since I’m not an expert in questioned documents. Best of luck!
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Go to college and major in forensic science or one of the natural sciences. Best of luck!
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Most people are cross-trained in more than one area. In smaller agencies people might have to wear a lot of hats.
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It depends on what you're talking about--was what contaminated with what? Lots of things can be contaminated with things without results being affected. Take blood, you can mix blood with paint or dirt or maybe oil or types of soap and that won't affect the DNA profile. If you mix it with bleach or other blood, it will. So if you had, say, heroin, and it gets mixed with fingerprint powder or cotton fibers, it's still going to test as heroin. If you mix it with cocaine, maybe it won't. (Controlled substances are not my field.) So 'contamination' is not a one-size fits-all word.
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Are professors really subject to the "Publish or Perish" policy?
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In trading, does an educated person have an advantage over an uneducated one?
I’m sorry but I have no idea. I’ve never worked in Toxicology.
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I used to be the hair and fiber analyst. Unfortunately it's increasing rare to find fiber analysis done at labs. Perhaps I can help you.
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My guess would be 0.Mostly it’s just kids wanting me to answer their homework questions.
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