Scarbo-Author

It's nearly Halloween! And the scariest thing, for this writer anyway, is all the candy that's coming into my house. We learned long ago that shopping for Halloween is a delicate dance. If you buy the candy too early, you stand to eat it all before the big night. And then you have to buy more. But if you wait too long, the shelves will be wiped out at the store and your only choices will be granny-style peppermints.

But I've been doing a lot of research for science classes, specifically biology and chemistry, and I came across this Youtube.com video How Much Trick or Treat Candy Will Kill You.

Probably no one is really in danger of OD'ing on five pounds of candy corn, but the formula for figuring out how much of a harmless substance a human would need to ingest in order for that substance to be fatal is very interesting and could definitely be used in a fictional forensic investigation.

The controversy continues to swirl around the conviction of Steven Avery and his young [alleged] accomplice Brendon Dassey. 

Recently, Dassey’s conviction was overturned by a Federal Judge on the basis that his confession was tainted and extracted illegally by Detectives. 

But there is also a pretty big question surrounding some key evidence that was used against Avery. Turns out that the smears of his blood found in the victim’s car may or may not have contained a preservative known as EDTA that is regularly used by crime labs. The test for that chemical has apparently only been used once before in a criminal trial: the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995. And we all know how that turned out! 

“Kathleen Zellner, Avery’s attorney, tweeted a statement that the Dassey decision was only part of the ongoing reevaluation of the murder case.

“Brendan's opinion shows cops made up crime story. Steven's will show cops made up crime evidence,” Zellner wrote.”

New research shows that if you have an Android phone your APPs might actually be watching you without your knowledge or consent. 

How do we know? 

Because a research team at Northeastern University, led by Guevara Noubir, built an Android App and tested it. They found that Android Apps have access to key sensors inside the phone that do not require permissions and can infer specific information about where you live, where you’ve been and where you’re going. You can read about their test and results here. 

Adding to this problem is the fact that for $25 anyone can load an app into the Google store and no one is screening them for malicious intentions. 

Guevara Noubir  advised Android users to only install Apps they trust and to monitor if Apps are still running in the background when you’re not using them. 

My personal addition to this story is that last evening my husband and I went out to dinner. I left my iPhone at home, but he brought his Samsung Android with him. During dinner we talked about the movie Pulp Fiction, remarking on the wonderful dialog. 

When we got home, my husband logged into Facebook and right there, at the top of his screen, was an ad for Pulp Fiction touting the dialog. Hmmmm.

Winter: It's snowing, i better stay inside and read.

Spring: I have allergies, i better stay inside and read.

Summer: It's too hot, i better stay inside and read.

Palynology the study of dust or particles strewn. 

In a forensics sense why do we care about dust? Don’t we really want to focus on the forensics rockstars like DNA and fingerprints, well-known identifiers which hold up so well in court? The answer is we care because sometimes DNA and fingerprints aren’t enough. Sometimes the clues or evidence that will unravel a gruesome crime is so microscopic that it’s nothing more than dust, pollen or spores. Sometimes it’s literally all you have to work with. 

Take the case of Baby Doe  whose tiny body was found in a black trash bag on the beach of Deer Island in the Boston Harbor. Baby Doe is one of the saddest stories ever. She had no fingerprints, her DNA didn’t match anyone in the database and no one came forward to claim or identify her. 

There was a time when spies hid things in their shoes. But in today’s world most people’s life stories can be found among the files on their smartphone. Found, being the operative word here. Most of us just go with a basic password or biometric lock to keep our phone data safe. And, if you’re not doing anything creepy or illegal, that’s probably all you need.

But, it turns out that for those with creepy and illegal inclinations, the smartphone is an exceptionally good hiding place. So good, in fact, that there are forensic investigators who specialize in cracking smartphones and finding hidden data.

So, what kind of things would one hide on a cell phone?

Obviously, teenagers want to hide everything. But forensic investigators are primarily concerned with data…photos…links…emails…manifestos...and any evidence of criminal activity. If it’s digital AND dangerous, someone has designed an app to keep it on the QT. 

One common hidden app technique is for the user to install a bland, boring app like a calculator, which works perfectly as a calculator. Then, upon entering a designated password, boring calc app opens to reveal a hidden digital vault. That’s right, I said it. Vault!

Read this article on the Dangers of Hidden Apps from Forensicmag.com

The ATF, that’s who. 

ATF which stands for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, is a US Law Enforcement Agency under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department. They specialize in crimes related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives AND arson. 

“The longer a burglary lasts, the longer a murder lasts, the more forensic evidence they're going to leave behind them.That's what makes it so hard to do fire investigations because it's one of the only ones that destroys itself.” Chad Campanell, Special Agent, Certified Fire Investigator, ATF 

When you consider that, in addition to just setting something on fire, criminals also believe they can burn away evidence linking them to a different, perhaps more serious crime, you can see how crucial an arson investigation can be. The key point here is that arson investigators are trained to know what to look for and to find the evidence that can’t be destroyed. 

In many cases this training begins by building something for the sole purpose of setting it ablaze. Read about the ATF lab which houses “the largest forensic tool in the world” -- a room where ATF investigators can build a two-story house, trick it out with data gathering devices, then burn it down while they record and study the process. 

Grizzly bears who once roamed most of North America were placed on the 'threatened' list in 1975. So how are their numbers today? Researchers don't exactly know because bears are huge, massively-strong, loners, with vicious claws and teeth, who aren't easy to track and count. Hanging out with them could be seriously hazardous to a researcher's health.

But now researchers have ultra-cool, forensic technology on their side.By gathering tuffs of bear hair snagged in the bushes around where they live, researchers can extract the DNA from skin tags attached to the hair and develop a profile. They can learn not only how many bears are in an area... but the relationship these bears have to each other. They can identify parents, children and sibling groups. And, the best part of all, they don't have to interact or interfere directly with the bears to do it. Read the article here at the genomne News Network to see how they do it.

Grizzly Bear Trivia: Number of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem when they were listed as being threatened in 1975: 136-312. Today, they estimate the number to be approx: 634 - 834.

It’s happened again, a private citizen used his cell phone to capture video of the shooting death of a non-combatant black man by police in Baton Rouge, LA. 

Before I go any further, let me say, #blacklivesmatter! And I am grateful that this video footage exists. I hope it will bring justice to this tragedy. 

With this in mind I thought this would be a good time to take stock of the parameters of video evidence. Is it legal to record the police interacting with civilians? Can police order you to stop recording? Can they confiscate your phone? 

Know Your Rights When Taking Photos... This article from the ACLU weighs in on these and other questions regarding video evidence.Their advice is pretty sound. 

...the bullet WILL come down and could actually kill someone. (It’s happened before.) Not only that, but there’s a good chance that a ballistics expert can identify the gun, the distance from where the bullet landed to where it was fired and possibly even track down the person who loaded and fired that gun. SO BE CAREFUL!  Celebrate The Fourth without firing a weapon.