Bio361A: Forensic Serology
Dr. Karen Bernd
Fall 2009: Dana 153

The Speaking Center in Cham B39 North Basement is open Sunday through Thursday
The Library Reference Librarians are a wonderful resource to get rolling and find sources
The Library Website has a Course Guide of references and help for this course
http://www.davidson.edu/administrative/library/refer/bio361.asp .
Use this site as a way to get started finding information about your topics.

Week

  Topic/Text Reading
8/21  

ASSIGNMENT AND READING TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE FIRST CLASS
Pre-course Survey: Complete before doing readings for this week. Available Noon Friday Aug 21st until 11:59am Monday 24th.
Course Background Reading: All pages from Purves/Sadava et al. 7th ed. (The edition with The 8th edition (Mandrill on cover) can also be used-- just look for similar headings.
Chapter 3: Life and Chemistry: Large Molecules: Focus on 38-45 and 54-57
Chapter 6: Energy, Enzymes and Metabolism: Focus on 113-118 and 121-123
Chapter 10: Genetics: Mendel and Beyond 187-199
Chapter 16: Recombinant DNA and Biotechnology 318-321, 335-337

Background reading contains review of terms, theories and technologies.
Note: there is a quiz on this material during the first class meeting. Quiz assumes 'Bio111' level of understanding and should be review.

Read presentation guidelines and evaluation forms- In guidelines and forms folder on Blackboard

 

MEETING MOVED in WATSON 243
Introduction to Course
Quiz on Background Reading
Discussion of presentation expectations and forms

8/31  

READING FOR THIS WEEK:
+Accepting evidence and expert witness testimony: Daubert Decision, Rehnquist opinion, Blackmun opinion, Daubert in NC, Federal Rules of Evidence #702.
+Presentation guidelines and evaluation forms. All in 'Guidelines and Forms' folder on Blackboard
Topic Assignments
on Blackboard

 

MEETING Dana 153: Discussion of Daubert and rules for accepting evidence.

By Wednesday 5pm turn in list of at least 4 sources and three points you plan to discuss
( http://www.davidson.edu/administrative/library/refer/bio361.asp )

Remember presenters must give one critiqued practice talk before 9pm Friday

9/7  

TOPIC: Forensic analysis of Sweat/Breath - focus on alcohol
Assigned topics:

  • The law: Alcohol related law-- what are the rules, the limits, and the consequences (limit to breath and sweat)? Focus on field sobriety testing
  • The biology: What is in your breath? What is sweat?
  • The forensic technology: Detection of alcohol by 'breathalyzer', SCRAM and other field methods (not Blood Alcohol). What is the technology and what is the science behind it.

READING: Saliva Proteome Paper
Remember presenters must give one critiqued practice talk before 9pm Monday so that peer reviewer can turn in form by 10pm.

 

During Class
Presentations
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard
Saliva Proteome Paper Discussion

If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

9/14  

TOPIC: Analysis of Blood Alcohol
Assigned topics

  • The law: Alcohol related law-- what are the rules, the limits, and the consequences (limit blood alcohol)?
  • The biology: Metabolism of alcohol (alcohol pharmokinetics and dynamics of alcohol transport in the body)
  • The forensic technology: Detection of Blood Alcohol Levels

READING: Beck et al. 2007 BIOMARKERS TO DISCLOSE RECENT INTAKE OF ALCOHOL: POTENTIAL OF
5-HYDROXYTRYPTOPHOL GLUCURONIDE TESTING USING NEW DIRECT UPLC-TANDEM
MS AND ELISA METHODS Alcohol & Alcoholism www.a1lcalc.oxfordjournals.org

P. Bean and M. Jones. 2009. Overcoming Incidental positives in ethyl glucuronide testing- lessons learned. American Biotechnology Laboratory june/July 14-17

 

During Class
Presentations
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard

Discussion of articles
Review of Debate proceedings. Assignment of debate positions

If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

9/21  

DEBATE #1 TOPIC: DUI/DWI

1. If person has consumed 2 alcoholic beverages in one hour, legally, they should not drive or occupy a watercraft. (Debaters should include metabolic and detection methods to support their claims)

2. DWI courts are a good use of resources and ensure better handling of DWI cases.

(No additional reading)

 

Further questions for last week's groups
DEBATE #1: BAC limit and DWI courts
Peer evaluations of debate

9/28  

TOPIC: Blood
Assigned topics:

  • The biology: What is blood? General overview of blood's functional parts and their roles
  • The forensic technology 1: How do you determine if blood is present at a crime scene?Presumptive methods: present different means of determining blood from non-blood and the biological/chemical support for those methods
  • The forensic technology 2: How do you determine if blood is human? Approaches to discriminating between human and non-human blood

READING: Antibody Profiling-- IgD
Isotachophoretic analysis of Human DNA

 

Presentation of topics
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard

Discussion of articles
Brainstorming for workshop

If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

10/5  

TOPIC: Blood
Assigned topics:

  • The law: Use of blood evidence in the courtroom (not DNA): Can include history of use/acceptance, role blood plays in modern trials, case law regarding its admission.
  • The biology 1: The ABO blood typing system (We know about blood-- go beyond to details of this marker system: What are the molecules? Where are they? Why are they present?)
  • The biology 2: Human Blood Markers: Beyond ABO (We know about blood and ABO-- what other blood markers are there? What kinds of molecules are these? What role(s) do they normally play in blood?

READING: Shabazz Case

 

Last week's groups discuss questions
Presentation of topics
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard
Discussion: Shabazz Case: Should an appeal be granted?
Workshop development
If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

10/12  

(Fall Break)

 
10/19  

TOPIC: Analysis of Blood Markers

  • The biology 1: Basic Properties of Inheritance (relate to blood markers)
  • The biology 2: Antibody antigen interactions (relate to forensic detection methods)
  • The forensic technology: Methods for detecting Blood Markers

READING: Determining ABO blood grouping from human oral squamous epithelium (2002)

 

Presentation of topics
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard
Workshop development

If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

10/26  

Workshop prep and run through 'dress rehearsal'

 


11/2  

Public Presentation 11/2
Davidson Community School
6th, 7th, and 8th graders

 

After presentation:
Write critique of presentation. Include discussion of parts that went well, parts that didn't go well (and reasons why that might have been) and comparison of expectations vs. reality
DUE MONDAY 11/2 by midnight: email word document as an attachment

11/9  

TOPIC: Detection of Semen

  • The forensic technology 1: What is semen? Presumptive tests for semen. What are they? How do they work?
  • The forensic technology 2: Confirmatory tests for semen/ for human semen. What are they? How do they work?
  • The law 3: Law relating to sexual assault. What is it? How is it proven? What are the consequences of conviction?

READING: 'Evaluation of PSA Membrane Test' paper
Sexual Assault Case

 

Presentation of topics
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard
Discussion of Articles
Workshop run through
If you are not leading class this week your group prepares potential workshop material and turns in by midnight Wednesday

11/16  

TOPIC: DNA evidence

  • The law 1: Use of DNA in evidence in the courtroom
    (How long has DNA evidence been admissable? In what conditions/types of cases would DNA evidence be helpful?)
  • The biology : What is DNA, at both chemical level and functional level? Similarities and Differences between genomic and mitochondrial DNA
  • The forensic technology : Methods for DNA analysis-- RFLPs. SNPs, microsatellites-- what are they, how are they detected?

READING: Out of the Icebox article
Allelic Discrimination article

 

Presentation of topics
Peer evaluations -- form available on Blackboard
Discussion of Articles

11/23  

TOPIC: DNA evidence

  • The biology and forensics 1: Mitochondrial DNA and victim identification in mass disasters
  • The forensics: CODIS and DNA databases: Their development and the population genetics behind them
  • The biology and forensics 2: Theory vs practice: complications introduced by crime scene samples

READING: Mauney case (do not print it out, read on line)

 

Presentation of topics
Discussion of Mauney case

 11/30   Course Evaluations
 

EXIT SURVEY DUE BY 11:59PM December 5th