U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Multimedia Listing

Effects of DNA Extraction Methods on Recovery, Degradation, and Loss

August 2020

Many working with genomic DNA can afford to lose large portions of it during its extraction without negatively impacting downstream analysis.  However, with work targeting highly degraded DNA sources, retention of every molecule can be key to successful analyses.   This webinar addressed the insufficient documentation of absolute efficiencies of extraction methods and the nature of DNA loss associated with the study of low copy number and degraded DNA samples.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course on Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes: Demonstration of Swabbing Wet Stains on an Absorbent Wood Surface

Content Advisory
Please be aware that this content contains descriptions of violence that may be distressing to some viewers.
August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes', as outlined in the third learning module, 'Evidence Collection'. This brief demonstration shows how a blood sample is swabbed from an absorbent wood surface.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course on Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes: Demonstration on Blood and Body Fluid Collection into Bindle Paper

Content Advisory
Please be aware that this content contains descriptions of violence that may be distressing to some viewers.
August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes', as outlined in the third learning module, 'Evidence Collection'. This brief demonstration shows a blood sample being scraped into bindle paper.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

Video of an attorney proffering an analyst as an expert witness

August 2020

0:01 Where are you employed? Illinois State Police. 

0:05 And what is your title? Forensic scientist. 

0:08 What are your primary duties my primary duties  include receiving evidence and screening them  

0:14 or looking for biological stains such as  blood semen or saliva I then perform DNA  

0:19 analyses on these stains and if I'm if it is  requested I testify in court to my findings. 

0:27 How long have you been employed  as a forensic scientist with ISP? 

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course on Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes: Demonstration on Biological Evidence Packaging

Content Advisory
Please be aware that this content contains descriptions of violence that may be distressing to some viewers.
August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes', as outlined in the third learning module, 'Evidence Collection'. This brief demonstration shows how the use paper wrapping to prevent contamination on wet and dried biological evidence.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

Network Forensics: Challenges and Tools

August 2020

This webinar introduced the importance of network forensics, which included capturing network traffic and reconstructing digital artifacts. Presenters discussed big data challenges, open-source tools, and the new toolkit FileTSAR.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on August 12, 2020.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course for Forensic DNA Officers of the Court: Uninterpretable DNA Samples in a Laboratory Report

August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court', as outlined in the sixth learning module, 'Understanding a Forensic DNA Lab Report'. This brief animation shows how inconclusive or uninterpretable results found in an electropherogram lab report can be excluded as the source of DNA evidence. 

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course for Forensic DNA Officers of the Court: Child Inheritance Pattern in Nuclear DNA

August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court', as outlined in the second learning module, 'Biological Terminology'. This brief animation shows how a child inherits genes from its parents in a nuclear cell and is used as biological DNA terminology. 

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course for Forensic DNA Officers of the Court: Excluded or Non-Matched DNA Samples in a Laboratory Report

August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court', as outlined in the sixth learning module, 'Understanding a Forensic DNA Lab Report'. This brief animation shows an excluded DNA sample typically found in a forensic lab report and is used as common terminology. 

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

NIJ Training Course for Forensic DNA Officers of the Court: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Analysis of Maternal Inheritance Patterns

August 2020
An interactive tool used to supplement the NIJ online training course entitled 'Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court', as outlined in the eighth learning module, 'Mitochondrial DNA & Y-STR Analysis'. This brief animation shows how mtDNA is passed from a mother to her children and the implications of this inheritance pattern in forensic testing. 

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy