A database of ink profiles is being put together at the Midwest Forensics Resource Center at Iowa State University which will allow scientists to combine mass spectrometry with a new sampling technique called Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART). This new process will help identify the chemical makeup of ink much more quickly and in much more detail than was previously possible and should prove to be of invaluable assistance to forensic scientists attempting to identify inks on fraudulent documents.
Anybody interested in crime scene investigation should take a look at Brian Stampfl's blog CSI Seattle. The author is currently enrolled on a 10 week course at the National Forensic Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee and he is using his blog to document the forensic science and crime scene investigation procedures being showcased, taught and studied.
Read a very interesting forensic science article published online by Economist.com which documented the issues surrounding the mass storage of DNA samples.
The article notes that the traditional way of keeping samples i.e. refrigeration is less than perfect given that power supplies can be interrupted and thermostats can be mis-set. However, it would seem a more satisfactory solution is as hand, a solution that enables DNA samples to be kept at room temperature.
I came across the transcript of a radio broadcast from 2004 which documented the effects that exposure to disturbing crime scenes had on a forensic police officer and her subsequent development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).