Everyone has heard of the show CSI and the infamous Forensic lab that coincides with it. Well now part of that lab will be with them at the scene as there is a new technology available to faster conclude what happened at a crime scene. Now available is a portable DNA detector which is now the size of a briefcase, and weighs approximately 10 kilograms. At a field test site where the Palm Beach county sheriff's office set up a mock crime scene, the unit was brought along. The research unit collected blood samples at the scene place them in the machine and in six hours had a positive match between the sample and a database of DNA. One of the researches Mathies states "This enables them to find the person and get crucial evidence before he or she leaves the region or country or destroys the evidence." Mathies also talked about how this would be great if the suspect has every been processed previously because now a days Law Enforcement takes DNA and fingerprints upon being processed in, having the information in the database allows for instant match.
Using Fluorescent lights and other accessories rather than chemical and biochemical reactions allows the unit to be much smaller than it is in the lab. The only major problem they seem to be having with the machine is the sensitivity and the limited amount of samples it can handle in its lifetime.
Sited from:http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21415/
6 comments:
Wow this is truly amazing! Now not only can they solve crimes much faster but now they have an entire CSI lab to go! Did you know that theres even a handheld one?
Now instead of using the fluroscent labels to target DNA you can, which were expensive and slow, we can use cheaper and faster mediator molecules.
Sited: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310173246.htm
This is really cool. Did you know that Mathies also explains that the advantage is that the police could now have almost every immediate information on who criminal actually be.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21415/
I know what you mean. I sometimes watch the real detective shows and by the time they find some evidence it is to late. I believe that this will help tremedously in capturing the criminals and identifying the victims.
Did you also know that another company called NEC has created one better, that can do DNA tests in less than 25 minutes. You should really check it out.
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/09/nec-puts-dna-lab-in-a-briefcase-for-the-man/
This is a very interesting subject. It's nice to see an example of an advancement in technology that will undoubtedly effect everyone and not just a certain group of tech-related professions.
New developments in PCR(Polymerase Chain Reaction), the technology used to perform DNA testing, have made portable testing possible. Researchers have even created a hand-held PCR amplification device that can help create fast, on site results for DNA testing.
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/545835
That can be really helpful since the only ones they had were the ones in the lab which was first used in 1991.
To be exact with the amount it can scan or test the detector measures 30 by 25 by 10 centimeters and weighs 10 kilograms while consuming 20 watts of power.
Also i believe NEC created one that runs a lot faster as mark stated before.
But over all this is very exciting information and i hope that the researchers of the university work on the device more to make it run fast and smoother
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21415/
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