Just Science

Latest Episodes:

Just Coroners Versus Medical Examiner Systems_Special Release: MDI_73 Oct 08, 2018

Show notes

In the second episode of our medicolegal death investigation special release season, Just Science interviews John Fudenberg, the Coroner for Clark County, Nevada. Listen along as Just Science explores commonalities and differences between the coroner and medical examiner systems to highlight pervading issues and possible improvements within the MDI community. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Being Vocal about Vicarious Trauma_Special Release: MDI_72 Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

In the first episode of our medicolegal death investigation special release season, Just Science interviews Kelly Keyes, the supervising deputy coroner of Orange County, California to give an overview about the coroners and medical examiners professions and to identify key topics for discussion in the fields today. Listen along as our host Dr John Morgan, and our guest co-host Dr. Jeri Ropero-Miller, talk around staffing issues, available resources for identifying missing and unidentified remains, and the vicarious trauma experienced within the community. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Genetic Marker Linkages_2018 R&D_61 Sep 10, 2018

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In the sixth episode of the 2018 R&D Season, Just Science speaks with Dr. Michael Edge of UC Davis about his research with record linkage of CODIS profiles with SNP genotypes. Can you tell if a set of CODIS markers and a set of SNP genotypes match the same person? Just science discusses with Doc the possibilities of linkages between CODIS and SNPs databases for identity and familial matching, and dispel preconceptions associated with them. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Portable Mass Spectrometer Possibilities_2018 R&D_60 Sep 03, 2018

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In the fifth episode of our 2018 NIJ R&D Season, Just Science speaks with Dr. Jamie Wieland and Dr. Christopher Mulligan of Illinois State University about assessing the impact of implementing portable mass spectrometers for on-site drug evidence processing. Listen along as Just Science explores cross-disciplinary research to determine the analytical, legal, and fiscal impacts of adopting drug screening protocols using portable mass spectrometers in the field. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just a Whole-Body CT Image Database_2018 R&D_59 Aug 27, 2018

Show notes

In episode four of the 2018 NIJ R&D Season, Just Science speaks with Dr. Shamsi Berry, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, about her research with standardizing a large-scale, whole-body CT image database. In 2010 the Office of the Medical Investigator for New Mexico was awarded an NIJ grant where they did high-resolution whole-body CT scans. Fast forward six years later where another NIJ grant was awarded to create a free-access Decedent CT Database from those whole body CTs. There will be over 15,000 autopsies that captures key data and whole-body CT images, which will be an invaluable resource to forensic researchers when it releases in late 2018. This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Skin Microbiomes as Evidence_2018 R&D_58 Aug 20, 2018

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In the third episode of the 2018 NIJ R&D Season, Just Science speaks with Dr. David Carter, Director and Associate Professor of Forensic Sciences at Chaminade University of Honolulu, about his research, “Evaluating the Skin Microbiome as Trace Evidence on Common Surface Types.” Microbiome trace evidence samples can be tracked back to individuals with high accuracy and used to narrow pools of suspects even when multiple people have touched a surface. The potential for microorganisms to reveal whether a particular person has touched an object is substantial. Listen along as Dr. Morgan and Dr. Carter discuss the implications of these findings as they apply to forensic science. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Microhaps Perhaps_2018 R&D_57 Aug 13, 2018

Show notes

In the second episode of our new R&D Season, Just Science host Dr. John Morgan speaks with human population geneticist Dr. Kenneth Kid, Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Senior Research Scientist with 44 years under his belt at Yale University. With the advent of massively parallel sequencing, microhaplotypes have become a valuable new type of DNA marker for use in forensics. These markers have great potential through MPS not only because their statistical power can greatly exceed that of standard forensic markers typed by capillary electrophoresis, but because they are also excellent at quantifying biologic relationships without having to worry about the high mutation rates. Listen to the discussion surrounding microhaplotypes, from the history of mapping the human genome and the evolution of population genetics, to the implications on forensics that new research in this field is providing. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just Speak into the Microbe-phone_2018 R&D_56 Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

In the first episode of our new R&D Season, Just Science host Dr. John Morgan speaks with Dr. Bruce Budowle, the Executive Director of the Institute of Applied Genetics and Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Did you know that if you swab a 1cm square area of skin you'll recover up to ten thousand bacterial cells? Microbiome profiling for forensic identification complements partial or inconclusive STR profiles to increase resolution for human source attribution. Performance assessment is underway and preliminary data indicate that the candidate panel can characterize human-based selected microbes even at initially low abundant body sites. Listen along as John and Bruce explore research surrounding human microbiome flora and their implications on forensic science. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just So You Know: In Remembrance of Dr. Cantu_055 Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

Just So You Know: In Remembrance of Dr. Cantu This Just So You Know episode was produced in remembrance of Dr. Antonio Cantu who passed away Friday, June 29, 2018. "Dr. Cantu worked as a Forensic Scientist for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and served as Chief Scientist for the Forensic Service Division of U.S. Secret Service (USSS) until he retired in 2007. Dr. Cantu’s expertise included the chemistry of documents and fingerprints. With a relentless commitment to education, love of knowledge and passion for his craft, Antonio touched, inspired and empowered everyone who knew him." Please click here to read Dr. Cantu's obituary. Listen along as Joseph Stephens, from the FBI Laboratory, discusses how Dr. Cantu shaped his forensic career and overall outlook on work and friendship.

Just Opioid Financial Burden on Crime Labs_Drugs_054 Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

In episode twelve of our Drugs Season, Just Science speaks to Dr. Paul Speaker, from West Virginia University, about the economic burden our justice system has from opioid deaths. They are estimating that the crime labs alone are spending around 270 milions dollars a year on the opioid crisis. Laboratory budgets are not growing fast enough to handle this drain on resources. Listen along as Just Science delves into the data of the opioid crisis. This episode will conclude the FTCOE's season on drugs. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

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