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BOL 1905: CSI Minnesota: Biologists Look at Forensic Science

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Course Instructors:
Kathryn Hanna khanna@umn.edu
 
Research QuickStart Topics
  • Mortuary Science
    This subject covers: the activities associated with the physical burial of the dead.

Associations, Organizations, Societies
  • American College of Forensic Examiners Institute of Forensic Science
    The society actively promotes the dissemination of forensic information. The association’s purpose is the continued advancement of forensic examination and consultation across the many professional fields of our membership. ACFEI has elevated standards through education, basic and advanced training, and Diplomate Status.
  • Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine at the Royla College of Medicine
    United Kingdom.

    The FFLM is a charity set up to develop and maintain the highest possible standards of competence and professional integrity in forensic and legal medicine.

    The specialty covers doctors working in three related disciplines: forensic medical practitioners (forensic physicians, forensic pathologists, sexual assault examiners, and child physical and sexual assault examiners); medico-legal advisers; and medically qualified coroners.

  • National Association of Medical Examiners
    National professional organization of physician medical examiners, medical death investigators and death investigation system administrators who perform the official duties of the medicolegal investigation of deaths of public interest in the United States

Online Databases
  • CODIS : Combined DNA Index System
    Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

    CODIS enables federal, state and local crime labs to exchange and compare DNA profiles. CODIS began as a pilot project in 1990. The DNA Identification Act of 1994 gave the FBI authority to establish a national DNA index for law enforcement purposes.


Governmental Websites
  • FBI Laboratory
    Thelargest and most comprehensive forensic laboratories in the world, the FBI Laboratory provides forensic and technical services to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
    • Forensic Science Communications
      Peer-reviewed forensic science journal published quarterly in January, April, July, and October by FBI Laboratory personnel. It is a means of communication between forensic scientists.
    • Handbook of Forensic Services
      Provides guidance and procedures for safe and efficient methods of collecting, preserving, packaging and shipping evidence.

Internet Resources
  • Autopsy
    • Autopsy
      Ed Friedlander, M.D., Pathologist

      "The Pathguy"

    • Autopsy: Life's Final Chapter
      American Medical Association.

      Autopsy: An Ancient Tool / How Families Benefit from the Autopsy / The Autopsy Process / Death Certificates / Death Investigation / When to Request an Autopsy / When is an Autopsy Required / The Setting of Death--Additional Considerations / Other Concerns after a Death / Disposition of the Body / Other Resources for Patients/Families

    • Autopsy: Sex, lies and murder.
      HBO documentary series with Dr. Michael Baden, former Chief Medical Examiner of NYC. Shows how forensic science and "detectives of death" cracked four homicide cases. Includes interactive autopsy and videos.
  • Forensic Entomology
    • Forensic Entomology
      Stephen W. Bullington, Ph.D., Consulting Entomologist

      This web site is designed primarily to teach police officers and homicide investigators the minimal skills they will need to interact profitably with a forensic entomologist. It should inform them how to collect insect larvae at a death scene, how to send these larvae to an entomologist, and what they might eventually expect from expert testimony.


Virtual / Museum Exhibits

Websites from various musems
  • Death: The last taboo
    This online exhibition by the Australian Museum looks at what happens to us after we die; how different cultures dispose of, mourn and remember their dead and takes a remarkable journey through how death has been dealt with through the ages.
      • Decomposition
        Body changes / Corpse fauna / Stages of decomposition / Forensic evidence
  • Virtual Exhibit on Forensic Science
    Joint effort between the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Carleton University in Ottawa, the Musée de la Civilisation in Québec City, the Musée de la Police de Montréal et de I’Īle Bizard, the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale in Montreal, the Vancouver Police Centennial Museum as well as the Vancouver Police Department.

    Includes an online database/encyclopedia; timeline of key dates in forensic science, and a interactive game.

  • Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body
    National Library of Medicine.

    "Visible Proofs is about the history of forensic medicine. Over the centuries, physicians, surgeons, and other professionals have struggled to develop scientific methods that translate views of bodies and body parts into "visible proofs" that can persuade judges, juries, and the public."


Interactive Websites
  • Autopsy of a Murder
    "Discover the science and technology behind every criminal investigation: the laboratories, the experts, the techniques, as well as the pioneers of the field and famous crimes they helped resolve thanks to their work."

    From the Centre Des Sciences De Montreal. To view, must allow popups.

  • Evidence: The True Witness
    ThinkQuest Library site. Covers detailed information about the various different aspects of forensic science. Includes references, glossary and links
  • 7th Sense: the Sense of Forensics
    ThinkQuest Library site. "Our project is based on the science of forensics. It would be a perfect place for beginners to understand the twists and turns of forensics."

Death Determination & Certification
  • Medical Examiners' and Coroners' Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting
    This handbook contains instructions for medical examiners and coroners on the registration of deaths and the reporting of fetal deaths. It was prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). These instructions pertain to the 2003 revisions of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death and the U.S. Standard Report of Fetal Death and the 1992 revision of the Model State Vital Statistics Act and Regulations.
  • Physicians' Handbook on Medical Certification of Death
    Handbook contains instructions for physicians on cause-of-death certification. It was prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). These instructions pertain to the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death and the 1992 revision of the Model StateVital Statistics Act and Regulations. This handbook serves as a model that can be adapted by any vital statistics registration area.
  • Uniform Determination of Death Act
    National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

    Approved by the American Medical Association 1980, American Bar Association 1981.



Page Coordinator: Katherine Chew chewx002@umn.edu
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