ANZPAA NIFS NEWS

ANZPAA
NIFS NEWS
Volume 13, Issue 4 – December 2012
Message from the
Director, ANZPAA NIFS
On 16 November 2012
we
learned
that
Professor Ross Vining
was killed in a light
plane crash in North
Queensland.
ANZPAA NIFS Update
End-to-end Processes
This project tracks the forensic process through the
following phases:
Stage 1: Scene Attendance.
Ross was flying a small sea plane that he had built himself
and had flown to Queensland to view a solar eclipse. Ross
was an adventurer having spent many hours in his plane
visiting all parts of Australia.
Stage 2: Evidence Submission.
He was a mountain climber and each year travelled to
Europe for mountain climbing expeditions with his climbing
colleagues. Ross was also a sailor and was preparing to
compete in the famous Sydney to Hobart blue water
classic starting in Sydney on Boxing Day (26 December)
this year.
Stage 5: Investigation (investigator follow-up).
However, it will be for his contributions to our ‘industry’ that
Ross will be remembered most by forensic scientists. Ross
had boundless energy and enthusiasm and was a lateral
thinker. From an ANZPAA NIFS perspective, he represented
SMANZFL on the NIFS Forum and the Australasian Forensic
Field Sciences Accreditation Board.
He was a founding member of the judging panel for the
John Harber Phillips Award and would always volunteer to
assess the contributions for the ANZPAA NIFS ‘Best Paper
Awards’.
Ross was also the mentor for the Chemical Criminalistics
Specialist Advisory Group and a member of Council of the
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA).
We will miss Ross’ enthusiasm, his leadership, his
friendship, his willingness to engage, his keenness to
discuss and then make decisions and his overall
contribution to our field.
Vale Professor Ross Vining.
Alastair Ross AM
Director, ANZPAA NIFS
Stage 3: Analysis.
Stage 4: Identification (database links).
with a view to identifying inefficiencies or ‘leakage points’
and learning from ‘best performers’.
Following a presentation of the project report to the
ANZPAA Board, workshops have been presented in all
jurisdictions. These provided a significant amount of
additional information/learning which is now being
documented and will be circulated to all jurisdictions. A
presentation based on this information was presented by
Cheryl Brown to the SMANZFL meeting in Wellington, New
Zealand on Thursday 7 December 2012.
Interfaces Project
The Interfaces Project is exploring how forensic medical
practitioners, forensic scientists and law enforcement
interact during investigations of homicide and/or sexual
assault.
The project has two aims:
1. To identify what types of communication and work
practices impact positively on sexual assault and
homicide investigations.
2. To develop recommendations and a model for how
practitioners should interact to enhance outcomes in
their investigations.
The data collection is now completed and over 100
medical, scientific, legal and law enforcement practitioners
were interviewed.
www.anzpaa.org.au
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
A draft written report on the project by Dr. Sally Kelty was
presented to the ANZPAA NIFS Forum in October and
feedback was provided by Forum members. This feedback
will form the basis of discussions with Sally to finalise the
report.
Two core Standards have been published as:
New DNA Technology
The third core standard, AS 5388.3 Forensic Analysis Part
3: Interpretation, was displayed on the Standards Australia
website for public comment. Forty comments were
received and were discussed by the Committee in late
August. The updated draft has been sent to Standards
Australia. This revised draft is currently being circulated to
Committee members and will form the ballot draft early in
the New Year.
This project is an initiative from the Australia New Zealand
Police Commissioners’ Forum (ANZPCF) to investigate
new DNA methods (such as familial testing and predictive
DNA testing). The project investigates the technological
and legal implications.
ANZPAA NIFS has developed draft policy options and the
issue is to be referred to the Justice sector. ANZPAA NIFS
is currently liaising with the Victoria Department of Justice
as sponsors to progress this.
Standardisation of DNA Interpretation
This project involves developing national standards for the
interpretation and reporting of DNA profiles. The Statistics
Scientific Working Group (Stats SWG) and the BSAG are
working on nationally agreed policy for the interpretation of
DNA profiles, which will then be coupled to a software
solution.
The software has been developed in conjunction with
Forensic Science South Australia and ESR Forensic, New
Zealand. The software has been finalised and is currently
being rolled out to government laboratories. A
communications toolkit for developing awareness is also
being finalised.
After the Fact (AtF)
The second round of tests using the Web-based version of
AtF is being distributed in December. This will provide an
ideal opportunity to assess the improvements made to the
package since the first round of tests earlier in the year.
It is highly likely that a pilot using AtF as part of a suite of
competency assessments will be conducted in six police
forces in the UK during 2013.
Forensic Standards
This project continues to develop a framework for Forensic
Standards.
www.anzpaa.org.au
AS 5388.1 Forensic Analysis Part 1: Recognition,
recording, recovery, transport and storage of material; and
AS 5388.2 Forensic Analysis Part 2: Analysis and
examination of material.
The fourth core standard, AS 5388.4 Forensic Analysis
Part 4: Reporting, was submitted to Standards Australia in
September, and was simultaneously published on their
website both for public comment and for ballot. Public
comment and balloting closed on 30 November.
Thirty nine public comments were received. Feedback
from Committee members was received on each comment.
The Committee voted overwhelmingly in favour of the
Standard as modified. Some final issues are currently being
resolved and it is hoped the Standard will be published in
2013.
The discipline-specific standard, AS 5481 Minimizing the
risk of contamination in products used to collect and
analyse biological material for forensic DNA purposes (also
previously published as an Australian Standard), was
accepted by ISO/IEC as the basis for the development of
an international standard. The international ISO Committee
meeting to officially start the ISO process is scheduled for
late April 2013. More information on these projects can be
found at www.anzpaa.org.au/current-initiatives/forensicstandards-development
Innovation Strategy
ANZPAA NIFS is in the process of developing a national
forensic science innovation strategy and forensic science
service providers were asked to provide information as to
what they saw as the priorities for R&D and to identify
knowledge/technology gaps. The collated data was used
as the basis for discussions on national R&D priorities at a
meeting on Thursday 1 November 2012 run in conjunction
with the ANZPAA NIFS Forum. A model developed by Dr.
Linzi Wilson-Wilde was also discussed. The strategy will
now be finalised from the outcomes of the workshop and
discussion at the ANZPAA NIFS Forum.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
Forensic Intelligence
First drafts and abstracts of a number of the papers for the
special edition of the Australian Journal of Forensic Science
featuring forensic intelligence have been received by the
guest editors. It is now likely that the journal will be published
in the second half of 2013.
Collaborative Trials
ANZPAA NIFS has worked with the Anthropology Scientific
Working Group to produce a web deliverable anthropology
collaborative trial based on CT scans. The results have been
presented at the ANZFSS Symposium 2012 and the trials
are now complete.
National Validation Process
The national method validation studies for document
examination and shoe impressions are now being conducted
‘in-house’ by the respective Specialist Advisory Groups
(SAGs). The methodologies developed through the validation
process will be published for peer review.
Contextual Bias
This project is about raising awareness and addressing the
issues of Contextual Bias in forensic science. To this end,
ANZPAA NIFS in collaboration with the Office of the Chief
Scientist, Victoria Police Forensic Services Department were
pleased to host the “Cognitive Factors in Making Forensic
Comparisons” workshop presented by Dr itiel Dror on the 19
and 20 November 2012 at the Airlie Conference Centre,
South Yarra, Melbourne. For more information please read
the workshop overview provided below.
Reports
‘Cognitive Factors in Making Forensic Comparison’
workshop on 19-20 November at the Airlie Conference
Centre, South Yarra, Victoria.
Dr. Itiel Dror, an international leader in the field of cognitive
factors in forensic decision making processes, presented a
‘Cognitive Factors in Making Forensic Comparison’ workshop
on 19-20 November at the Airlie Conference Centre, South
Yarra, Victoria.
www.anzpaa.org.au
Image: Dr Itiel Dror presented the Cognitive Factors in Making
Forensic Comparisons workshop.
The workshop was supported by the Office of the Chief
Scientist, Victoria Police Forensic Services Department
(VPFSD) in collaboration with ANZPAA NIFS.
Dr Dror is a senior lecturer with the University College London
and a principal consultant with Cognitive Consultants
International. Dr Dror’s academic work relates to theoretical
issues underlying human performance and cognition.
The workshop was aimed at senior managers and leaders in
forensic areas where the principal process used in analysis is
cognition. It was designed to build awareness and
understanding of contextual bias issues and propose
practical strategies for minimising its impact.
The workshop was attended by participants from Australian
and New Zealand forensic science laboratories representing
a range of forensic manager and practitioner roles. The
participants were from a range of disciplines such as
fingerprints, impression evidence, ballistics, blood pattern
anaysis, DNA analysis, handwriting, fibres and chemical
trace evidence.
The first day of the workshop focused on presentations,
demonstrations, activities, and exercises, all geared to give
the participants scientific knowledge that pertains to cognition
and to help them to think about cognitive issues. The second
day of the workshop was focused on taking the more
theoretical information covered in the first day, and applying it
to very specific and practical issues in forensic comparisons.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
Records demonstrate that errors with serious
consequences for patient’s health, such as amputation of
the wrong limb, occur in medical environments. However,
there are some who believe that errors of similar seriousness
cannot occur in their particular field of forensic science.
This may be in part due to the notion that errors in the legal
context are not as apparent as errors in the field of medicine.
Dr Dror observed that forensic laboratories are taking great
steps to minimise physical contamination, but are doing
very little to minimise the well-understood impact of
cognitive contamination.
Image: Dr Dror helps a workshop participant to relax in the
historic setting of the Airlie Conference Centre.
Dr Dror introduced some of the principles and constraints
of the human brain and cognitive system, and how different
factors affect expert performance. Dr Dror used simple
examples to demonstrate the extraordinary ability of the
human mind but also expose its inherent weaknesses and
vulnerabilities. To make sense of the world, our minds
impose order and make assumptions as well as distorting,
adding and ignoring information. These abilities are both its
power and weakness.
Dr Dror proposed that the human mind is not a camera.
The mind cannot consider all information. It must be
selective because it has limited available cognitive
resources. He explained a paradox, whereby as we
develop expertise our mind becomes increasingly selective.
It develops an ability to automatically filter what it considers
to be irrelevant.
Overall this is a good and effective mechanism, but it may
also lead to the automatic and unconscious filtering of
relevant information degrading the quality of expert
decisions.
Specific research relating to forensic science as well as
real casework examples were used to uncover some of the
issues involved in the examination and comparison of
patterns in forensic decision-making. Participants learned
about specific and tangible ways to improve forensicdecision making and address the issue of contextual bias
bought into sharp focus by the 2009 National Academies
(NAS) report (US).
These included cognitive bias training, blind testing, parallel
testing and context control procedures, just to name a few.
The workshop was highly informative, interactive and
punctuated with lively debate. More information and articles
on cognitive issues in forensic science can be found at
www.cci-hq.com.
Dean Catoggio
ANZPAA NIFS, Senior Project Officer
Illicit Drug SAG Report
The Illicit Drug Specialist Advisory Group (Drug SAG)
convenes an annual meeting of representatives of illicit
drug analysts from Australian States and Territories and
New Zealand. The scope of the meeting covers clandestine
laboratories, illicit drug analysis and training and
communication for chemists.
A point was made during the workshop that cognitive bias
does not equal error. Bias only affects the decision outcome
when it can move the actual evidence across a threshold.
It is a function of how near the evidence is to the threshold
and the direction and magnitude of the bias.
At the recent Drug SAG meeting held in Perth on 2-3
August 2012, Daniel COGHLAN (NSW Police) took over
the role as Drug SAG chair in 2012 from Andrew CAMILLERI
(South Australia). The focus of the Drug SAG group is to
raise the profile of its members as a source of expertise
that can be called upon to advise on illicit drug issues and
to participate in national steering committees and working
parties.
Dr Dror put forward that cognitive bias is not an ethical
issue but rather it is a product of our cognitive architecture.
Experts have the potential to unintentionally mislead courts
when exposed to domain irrelevant contextual information
such as the knowledge that the suspect has confessed to
the crime.
Overwhelmingly the biggest issue discussed at the Drug
SAG meeting concerned drug analogues. The expansion
of drug analogues has principally been driven by the
explosion of cannabinoid mimics, principally sold as ‘Legal
Highs’ in health food stores that have sprung up across the
country.
www.anzpaa.org.au
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
Numerous issues were discussed and a path forward for
uniform analogue rules for the determination of prohibited
drugs was developed. The rapid expansion of drug
analogues and the impact on turn-a-round times for the
release of analysis results is also an issue. Drug SAG
members will also be participating with the development of
Australian guidelines to accompany the Forensic
Standards. The issue of reviewable data for the recording
of botanical features in cannabis examinations will also be
addressed.
A success 2012 has been the development of the After
the Fact Clan Lab training package. It was presented to the
CLIC meeting and endorsed and should be available 2013.
The SAG will also be running a clandestine laboratory
workshop in 2013.
Dan Coghlan (NSW Police Force)
Illicit Drug SAG Chair
Electronic Evidence SAG
The Electronic Evidence Specialist Advisory Group
(EESAG) covers the areas of Computer Forensics, Audio
Visual and Digital Imaging. EESAG met in Canberra 1-2
December 2012 and was chaired by Mike Whittaker of
New Zealand Police. Congratulations to the newly elected
Deputy Chairs of the Scientific Working Groups:
Image: Members of the EESAG Audio Visual Scientific Working
Group compare audio and video enhancement results as part of
a collaborate study at AFP Forensic and Data Centres, Weston,
Canberra.
The aim of the study was to compare the results of the
recent EESAG National Signal Processing Proficiency Test
with a view to identify best practice methodology for signal
processing areas such as audio and video enhancement.
The process of determining ‘what makes a good
enhancement’ is subjective. The collaborative study helps
laboratories to identify common assessment criteria and to
determine where their proficiency test results sit among the
results of other laboratories.
Tim Woodcock (Queensland Police)
•
Audio Visual Scientific Working Group (AVSWG) - Ed
Van Dyk, NSW Police
•
Computer Forensic Scientific Working Group (CFSWG)
– Mark Rubidge, WA Police
Audio Visual Scientific Working Group
•
Digital Imaging Scientific Working Group (DISWG) –
Chris Flight, Victoria Police
EESAG Advanced Alternate
Photography Workshop
Many thanks to the outgoing deputy chairs Tim Woodcock
(Queensland Police), Barry Blundell (SA Police) and Darren
Bails (SA Police) for their contribution to EESAGs many
achievements such as the revision of the Digital Imaging
Guidelines, development of ‘fit for police’ CCTV
recommendations and development of investigator and
digital practitioner training and education guidelines.
S/Sgt Mike Whittaker (New Zealand Police)
EESAG Chair
EESAG Audio Visual Collaborative Study
The AVSWG held an Audio Visual Collaborative Study as
part of the agenda for the EESAG meeting in Canberra on
the 30 November 2012.
www.anzpaa.org.au
Outgoing Deputy Chair
Light
Source
Preceding the EESAG meeting in Canberra this year, on 30
November 2012, was a workshop to examine methods of
photography using alternate light sources as an
enhancement medium.
Twelve enthusiastic attendees from a variety of disciplines
and mixture of police and forensic organisations attended
the workshop, to be treated to an array of technical
presentations, case studies, and a hands-on session with
some of the equipment used in recent research projects
that demonstrate the techniques presented on different
substrates.
An emerging trend is the use of modified digital SLR
cameras as a screening tool for blood stains on dark
clothing and substrates, and both South Australia and
Victoria have adopted these cameras for this purpose, with
other jurisdictions keen to get on board.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
Other novel uses for alternate light sources were also
presented, including surveillance, fingerprint detection,
bite-mark and tattoo enhancement, and the detection of
capsicum spray residues.
While there was some crossover research identified due to
a lack of awareness about what projects other agencies
are running, there are moves afoot within EESAG to
maintain a register of imaging-related research that may be
of interest to other agencies.
This will enable targeted research that is based on results
of similar projects in other jurisdictions and provide contact
details for key personnel. There was also a request to
publish as much research as possible, to enable peer
review and minimise duplication.
The different reflectivity of a variety of seemingly-similar
dark-coloured fabrics was noted and prompted
suggestions of further research required to identify the
spectral response differences for similar-coloured fabric.
In the end, this workshop prompted discussion and ideas
about the future of alternate light source photography in
forensic agencies. The avenues for future research are
widespread and include the appearance of different
materials under infra-red and visible light, detecting blood
under paint, chemical composition of fabrics and its impact
on infra-red reflectivity, occurrence of false positives, and
the application of these methods in the field.
Thanks must go to Chris Flight and Stuart Cross for their
work in organising the workshop, ANZPAA NIFS for their
support, AFP for hosting the workshop, and all attendees
for their eager involvement in the day.
Sgt. Darren Bails (South Australia Police)
Outgoing Deputy Chair
Digital Imaging Scientific Working Group
Contributions
The
International
Symposium
on
Human
Identification (ISHI) 2012. 15-18 October 2012,
Nashville USA
Images: Workshop participants try their hand at different
alternate lighting techniques applied to photography of stains
on clothing at the EESAG Advanced Alternate Light Source
Photography Workshop, Canberra.
www.anzpaa.org.au
The International Symposium on Human Identification is an
annual conference held only in the USA. The conference is
focussed on the applied aspects of human identification
and has a large manufacturing contingent. This year the
conference was held in Nashville Tennessee. The
conference is usually attended by 800-900 forensic
biologists, mainly from the USA, but a sizable international
contingent is also present.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
The conference was preceded by a series of workshops
over two days. The workshop on rapid DNA was of great
interest due to the recent advances in the area and the
release of potential instrumentation early in 2013.
The exhibition section of the conference was extremely
large with over forty mostly international companies
exhibiting. Each company was approached in respect of
potential implications for Australia and some information
has been received and forwarded to relevant scientists. In
addition, each company was approached regarding the
International Society for Forensic Genetics Congress to be
held in Melbourne in 2013.
Pre-conference Workshop - Rapid DNA
The Rapid DNA Workshop was held on the Monday prior
to the conference commencement. Rapid DNA is a term
used for three emerging aspects of developments in DNA
analysis:
1. Instrumentation - where the entire DNA analysis
process is conducted in the one instrument in a short
period of time (90 minutes or less). This is reflected as
sample in to result out and was the main subject of the
workshop.
2. Methodology – usually referring to the amplification
stage of the DNA analysis process, which is performed
in 20 minutes or less (standard times are around 3 to
3.5 hours).
3. Service – at least one laboratory is now offering a
‘rapid DNA service’ which uses a variation of standard
DNA analysis methodology to significantly reduce the
turn-around time for analysis to two hours.
To begin the workshop, the fundamentals of microfluidics
were reviewed and then three companies about to release
rapid DNA instrumentation provided overviews of their
respective products. The three companies are:
1. GE Healthcare – DNAscan (developed under the
Accelerated Nuclear DNA Equipment program (ANDE))
2. IntegenX – RapidHIT 200
3. Lockhead Martin IntrepID DNA Analysis System
www.anzpaa.org.au
Presenters at the workshop also discussed implications of
the new technology, directions for the future and impact on
police systems including DNA databases. The workshop
was extremely useful in gaining a broad understanding of
the issues in a short space of time.
The overall conclusion at the end of the workshop was that
the rapid DNA instruments are for use by scientists and not
ready for police stations or use by unqualified personnel.
This is in part due to the complexity of the results, the
presence of false positives and false negatives, success
and accuracy rates and the maintenance issues around
the instruments.
ISHI Conference
Y chromosome Analysis
The YHRD database has 109 populations and over
105,000 profiles. China has the most profiles followed by
the USA. The databases can be searched for ySTRs with
high mutation rates. The group is currently developing a
PPY23, augmenting project, 93 groups are involved, in 36
countries. Constantly increasing the number of loci in kits.
The database is important because availability of source of
data can answer questions in court.
All labs that provide data must pass a proficiency test, but
the group will also accept other tests such as CTS. The
group has created meta populations of genetically
connected populations on the database e.g. European.
However, they found a structure within the European group
and defined three major pools, East Europe, West Europe
and Southern Eastern Europe.
To calculate stats they use match probability estimates
using the coalescence method or surveying method.
Estimation methods based on evolutionary distances
between haplotypes were said to be superior and exist but
require enormous computational demands.
YSTRs are useful in many applications: genealogy studies,
forensic analysis (including sexual assault cases) and
parentage cases. Bigger kits are being developed, now
developing a 26kit. The presence of some null alleles were
found in some kits, e.g. at DY643. DYS570 and DYS576.
A duplication of peaks was noted. Additionally a non-true
null allele was seen in DYS448.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
STR Marker kits
Recently an expansion of STR marker kits has been seen.
These are hard to create, particularly when large amplicon
sizes are not preferable. New kits include 6 dye chemistry
and mini STRs. However, the new Globalfiler kit only
required 2 primer re-designs. There were changes to allelic
ladder, which includes 343 alleles, 246 virtual bins, 589
total alleles and bins. The kit runs well on the 3500, or
upgrade 3130 or 3730. It uses GeneMapper IDX v 1.4 and
takes 80 mins for PCR.
PowerPlex Fusion system is a 24 plex, which includes
CODIS and ESS loci plus Pentax E and D, amelogenin and
DYS391. It uses 5 dyes and is compatible with existing
instruments. The allelic ladder includes 376 alleles, 36 new
ones and virtual bins. The PCR runs in 90 mins. Validation
studies indicate that the percentage of alleles called is
100% at 25, 12.5 and 6.25ul with swab, slightly less with
FTA 1 punch and is reduced with the Bode collector
(always 100% at 25ul).
Phenotyping
The kit Irisplex found two genes have most of the
determination of eye colour, followed by a further four
SNPs. There is an FSI genetics article that covers much of
the information. For hair colour, they found 13 predictive
DNA variants from 11 genes, so 11 SNPs, 2 combined
sets of variants = 22 genes.
The Hirisplex system combines eye and hair colour into a
multiplex design with a total of 24 SNPs. Full profiles were
found from 63pg DNA. The kit caters for degraded DNA,
uses SNaPshot technology. The kit uses multiplex PCR,
followed by clean-up and single base pair extension using
fluorescently labelled dNTps
The group used multi-nominal logistic regression to model
the system. They found green eye colour hard to predict,
blue and brown easier, with high accuracy values. The
group correctly predicted 37 out of 40 eye colours.
The group focused on hair colour looking at blonde, brown,
black and red and found a lot more variation in hair than
eye, so it was not as accurate; overall about a 76%
accuracy rate. The group found they could also split
colours into light and dark and have developed a software
prediction tool.
Phenotyping is used as a pure intelligence tool and not for
court. The group found that black hair individuals were
present more outside Europe. Most individuals inside
Europe were actually very dark brown. The kit does not
account for age dependent changes in hair colour (eg grey
hair) as these are dependent on molecular processes that
are still not understood.
This is why blonde is harder to predict, because some
blonde individuals (as a child) do not always stay blonde. It
was found to be the same with greying hair colour.
Everything that a lab needs to do this type of phenotyping
testing is available online.
Rapid DNA
In the exhibitor section of the conference, GE Healthcare
and IntegenX were running demonstrations of their
respective rapid DNA instruments DNAscan and RapidHIT
200. Both were relatively easy to use. During a
demonstration a full DNA profile (both instruments used
PowerPlex 16) was obtained from the RapidHIT 200 and a
partial profile (missing one locus) was obtained from the
DNAscan. Both profiles displayed some peak in-balance.
Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde, OAM
General Manager, ANZPAA NIFS
‘DNA in Forensics: Exploring the Phylogenies’ - 5th
International EMPOP meeting and 8th International
Y-Chromosome User Workshop, 6-8 September
2012, Innsbruck, Austria
Recently I was fortunate to attend the ‘5th International
EMPOP meeting and 8th International Y-User Workshop’ at
the University of Innsbruck in Austria. The Y-Chromosome
User workshop was first held in 1996 in Berlin, the home of
the Y haplotype reference database (YHRD). In 2004, The
Y workshop combined with the mitochondrial DNA meeting
to become a joint meeting. The workshop is generally held
every two years and involves those attendees that have an
interest in mitochondrial DNA and /or Y chromosome DNAboth lineage markers with dual ancestral and forensic
applications.
This year the workshop attracted 245 registrants from 43
different countries. Most of the attendees had some
involvement with the YHRD and/or European DNA Profiling
(EDNAP) Mitochondrial Population (EMPOP) databases as
either users or contributors.
www.anzpaa.org.au
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
The attendees also included those involved in research
with universities and forensic scientists from government
laboratories. A warm welcome was given by the two main
organisers of the workshop, Lutz Roewer, Berlin (YHRD)
and Walter Parsons from the Institute of Innsbruck (EMPOP).
During the conference both organisers encouraged
participants to collaborate and contribute population data
(which is quality controlled) to the databases in order to
provide more information to access and share for the
benefit of all users.
My main focus in attending the meeting was to investigate
the latest Y-STR technologies and establish some
international connections with others in the same field.
There were informative sessions in regard to two new
Y-STR kits- one that has recently been developed by
Promega, ‘PowerPlex® Y23 kit’ and one that is due for
release in the next few months by Life Technologies.
The new Promega kit incorporates all of the 17 markers
currently used in the ‘Y-filer®’ kit plus an additional six
markers, which includes two ‘rapidly mutating’ (RM)
markers. These RM markers have a greater potential to
distinguish between paternal male relatives and therefore
may be quite useful in forensic casework when investigating
family members.
Life Technologies is expanding its Y-filer® loci to develop a
kit which will have 27 markers, (10 extra markers-including
two rapidly mutating). It is due for release in a few months
time.
A presentation given by B. Berger from the Institute of Legal
Medicine, Innsbruck, Austria involved research on the
‘iceman from Tyrol’. The iceman is a 5,300 yr old mummy
found in 1991 in the Öztal Alps, near the border between
Italy and Tyrol (Austria). By using Y-SNPS to analyse the Y
chromosome it was found that the iceman belonged to a
haplogroup (Hg) that is very rare in populations in Europe
today (<1%).
By sampling over 2,000 males that were born in Tyrol it was
found that this rare haplotype gave unexpectedly high
densities of 11% in the area of the Öztal Alps near to where
the mummy was located. The research is still ongoing.
There were a few interesting presentations on ways to
calculate the statistical significance of a Y-STR haplotype.
The developing area of ‘bioinformatics’ featured in this
section as the use of computer technology for modelling
population data is now utilised by researchers in order to
achieve better frequency estimations.
www.anzpaa.org.au
When handling large amounts of scientific data, such as
DNA sequencing of whole chromosomes, researchers
expressed difficulty with storing the data. Not only are there
problems with storage but transferring large amounts of
scientific data between countries was discussed as an
issue that may only be solved with advances in information
technology.
Further information obtained from the workshop will be
forwarded to the Biology Specialist Advisory Group for
review.
Overall I would sincerely like to thank ANZPAA NIFS and the
NSW Forensic and Analytical Science Service (NSWFASS)
for the wonderful opportunity of attending this international
meeting.
Michele Franco
Senior Forensic Biologist, NSWFASS
Lidcombe, Sydney NSW
ANZFSS Twenty14 update
The buzz from Hobart is slowly fading, but the memories
remain. MONA is indelibly etched into our minds as the
new standard for midweek ‘networking’ nights – and as a
new Organising Committee this sets probably an
unachievable goal to match. But as each state (or country)
puts their own flavour into every Symposium, so will
Adelaide. We have some events planned that should
entertain and amuse (and maybe even educate…), so stay
tuned for more details.
On to the scientific side, the Scientific Discipline Chair has
been appointed and we would like to welcome Professor
Adrian Linacre from Flinders University into this role. He will
be coordinating the Discipline Contacts and selecting a list
of candidates very shortly to assist him in the process of
screening the abstract submissions to produce a varied
and informative program.
Carolyne Bird is our Workshop Coordinator and will be in
charge of ensuring we have a great workshop program
associated with the Symposium, and to assist all workshop
facilitators in finding venues, costing out workshops, and
having everything they need on the day.
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
We are currently in the process of listing and contacting
sponsors/potential sponsors to ensure we get the level of
support we need to make the Twenty14 Symposium a
financial as well as social and scientific success.
The sponsorship prospectus is about to be sent to the
designer so will be available soon. The trade exhibition is
also very important for the vendors we deal with to be able
to ply their wares in person and put names to faces in the
forensic community.
To everyone out there we ask a favour, send us your ideas
and suggestions for Plenary Speakers. As you all know we
only have a limited number of funded positions for Plenary
Speakers and these must be carefully selected so they
reflect the theme and reputation of the Symposium. But we
need you, as practitioners, to assist us by suggesting highprofile, maybe controversial, but certainly engaging
speakers from your fields that we can select from.
The website is up and running at www.anzfss2014.com.au
and if you have a spare 2 minutes 49 seconds, watch the
video to get excited for 2014. We will be updating the
website as we progress, so register to receive updates
and don’t miss out on any news.
Drug Analogue Workshop
Date:
2013
Location:
Canberra
Registration:
TBA
Clan Lab Training
Date:
Location:
Registration:
TBA
Adelaide
$150
Autopsy DNA Sampling Methods
Date:
TBA
Location:
Brisbane
Registration:
$200
Sgt. Darren Bails
ANZFSS Twenty14 Organising Committee
Meetings and Workshops
Invitations to attend forthcoming workshops are
forwarded in advance to the relevant agencies and are
not open to the public unless otherwise stated.
Provision of Expert Evidence Workshop
Date:
22-23 March 2013, Perth
3-4 May 2013, Brisbane
26-27 July 2013, Darwin
Registration:
$500
These workshops are designed to familiarise
participants with court procedures, legislation and
Codes of Practice/Ethics regarding expert evidence
and to give the participants practice at presenting
evidence in a moot court environment with ‘real’
Judges and Barristers. There is a maximum of 18
participants at each workshop. Preference will be
given to participants from SMANZFL laboratories in the
relevant jurisdiction.
www.anzpaa.org.au
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ANZPAA NIFS NEWS
Events Calender
MORE INFORMATION
25th WORLD CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL
SOCIETY FOR FORENSIC GENETICS (ISFG)
If you would like any further information on ANZPAA NIFS
meetings and workshops or would like to add any dates
into the next newsletter please forward to Linzi WilsonWilde: linzi.wilson-wilde.nifs@anzpaa.org.au.
The International Society for Forensic Genetics will hold
their biennial meeting 2-7 September 2013 in Melbourne,
Australia. www.isfg2013.org.
Disclaimer
This newsletter is for general information purposes
only. The views expressed in this newsletter are not
necessarily those of ANZPAA NIFS. ANZPAA NIFS
has taken all reasonable measures to ensure that
the material contained in this newsletter is correct.
However, ANZPAA NIFS gives no warranty and
accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or the
completeness of the material.
Newsletter Contributions
Please forward all newsletter contributions to Dr
Linzi Wilson-Wilde:
linzi.wilson-wilde.nifs@anzpaa.org.au.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
2013.
18-23 February 2013. Washington DC.
22nd International Symposium on the Forensic
Sciences
The next Australian
New Zealand Forensic
Science
Society
biennial conference
will be held between
31 August and 4
September 2014 in
Adelaide,
South
Australia.
ANZPAA NIFS
Level 6, Tower 3, World Trade Centre
637 Flinders Street, Docklands Victoria 3008
T +61 3 9628 7211 F +61 3 9628 7253
secretariat.nifs@anzpaa.org.au
www.anzpaa.org.au
www.anzpaa.org.au
11