0000000000885044
AUTHOR
Francesc Francès
Testing the recoverability of grass DNA transferred to textiles for forensic purpose
Botanical evidence such as grass stains on textiles is sometimes present in the crime scene and can allow investigators to establish an association between persons linked to the criminal event and the crime scene. In this study, extraction of grass DNA from stains on textiles was undertaken. DNA extraction was performed on four grass species conserved both indoors and outdoors for 7, 14 and 30 days after staining. Once the extracted DNA was quantified, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying a fragment of the internal transcribed spacer was performed.DNA extraction was successful in 97.5% of samples. No significant differences in the amount of extracted DNA were detected among species …
A Role for Judges in Assisted Dying
Medically provoked death, whether euthanasia or assisted suicide, is a common issue for discussion in various forums, participants coming from widely differing fields of knowledge, among who are, of course, doctors. Substantial legal differences exist in Europe on this issue and in an ever-wider Europe, it is essential, for practical reasons, that legislation be standardised. We would like to propose possible regulations that would provide effective safeguards in the application of euthanasia or assisted suicide.