The New Childrens Encyclopedia

FORENSIC SCIENCE

249

SCIENCE

TAKE A LOOK: FACE FROM THE PAST

u DEPTH MARKERS

The artist makes a cast of the

skull. Pegs act as depth

markers for skin and muscles.

Forensic scientists have studied skeletal

remains. They can help forensic artists

to build up a 3-D image of the face

from the skull. Facial reconstruction is

Digital data

Long gone are the days of using

ink to record fingerprints on

paper. Instead, the police use

electronic scanners to record the

prints digitally. The police store

the prints on a database, which

can then be used to match the

prints found at crimes scenes.

A new development is iris

scanning, which looks at

the colored tissue

around the pupil.

Leaving prints

Criminals leave prints

on everything they touch.

Prints left in blood stains show up

clearly. Other visible marks can be left

on soft materials such as soap. Latent

prints are made by

natural skin oils.

These prints show

up when forensic

scientists dust

the crime scene.

Cybercrime

Crime involving computers is on

the increase. The crimes often

involve people stealing credit-card

details and pretending to be

someone else. Computer experts

are helping the police to track

down these cybercriminals.

DO NOT ENTER CRIME SCENE DO NOT ENTER

FINGERPRINT FEATURES

If you look at your fingertips, you will

notice they are covered in tiny ridges.

The ridges form distinct patterns of

arches, loops, and whorls. No two

people have been found to have the

same prints (not even identical twins)

so they can be used for identification.

u FACE SCULPTURE

The artist uses a modeling

tool to build up the muscle

layers with modeling clay.

u SKIN DEEP The artist

adds a layer of clay to form

the skin. The head is now

fully reconstructed.

. FINGER SCAN
A scanner records
the pattern of arches,
loops, and whorls that
make up a fingerprint.

d IRIS SCANS The scanner

records the features of the iris,

which is unique to each

person.

. DUSTING FOR
PRINTS A forensic
scientist dusts a window
to reveal a set of prints
hidden on the glass.

Dusting brush

Double loop Whorl Arch

DNA fingerprinting

Everyone has a unique DNA

sequence (except for identical

twins). Forensic scientists can

turn a DNA sample into a

fingerprint by breaking the

DNA into small fragments

and then making these spread

through a sheet of gel to

form a series of bands.

extremely important. It has helped the

police solve crimes that happened

decades ago. It also reveals what people

from ancient civilizations looked like.