Pioneering forensics research into body fluids in sexual assaults
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - 12:01
in Paleontology & Archaeology
New techniques for identifying body fluids -- especially important in cases of alleged sexual assault -- have been pioneered by a PhD candiate, who has focused her studies on the topic. "If a male doesn't produce sperm, he doesn't produce DNA, so I am trying to differentiate between seminal fluid and semen so that I can strongly support the hypothesis that sexual intercourse did occur even if the DNA isn't present," she explains, adding that the ability to identify accurately the presence or absence of fluids at a crime scene could be vital to prove the innocence of an alleged offender -- in cases of false accusation -- as well as being an important prosecution tool.