FORENSICS
Criminal investigations
of the remaining passengers were gradually
The increase in automation in forensic science in
identified over the course of the next month
the last few years has led to a requirement for data
as further testing of remains was carried out,
and three per cent of the passengers were not
management systems. Greg Blackman looks at the
identified.
importance of LIMS in forensic laboratories
DNA analysis is one of the main tools used
in forensic science to identify individuals.
Crime laboratories undertaking DNA typing
The clean-up surrounding large-scale disasters are typically concerned with comparing DNA
can involve massive amounts of manpower evidence with known standards. The evidence
and resources, and take months or years to is DNA samples collected from a crime
, istockphoto.com
conclude. Victims from the attacks on the scene and these are cross-matched against
World Trade Center were still being identified DNA swabs taken from anyone connected
erraxplorer
as late as April 2008, more than seven years to that scene, be that victims, defendants
after the Twin Towers collapsed. The remains
Photo: T
or elimination ‘knowns’. The elimination
were identified through DNA analysis, and knowns can come from the victims’ relatives,
updated technology is being used to re-extract for example, or, if it’s a shared house, from
DNA to make new identifications. tenants. The comparisons are made, not only
The Brazilian TAM Airlines Flight 3054, to generate and compile evidence against
which crashed on 17 July 2007 upon landing suspects, but also to exclude people from the
in São Paulo, and claimed the lives of all 189 investigation.
people on board along with 10 employees The Department of Forensic Medicine at
working in the TAM Airlines building that the University of Copenhagen handles all
it collided with, was Brazil’s largest aviation requests for DNA profiling for the Danish
tragedy. The forensics team from the São Victims of the World Trade Center attacks were authorities and uses a LIMS from global LIMS
Paulo Criminal Institute had to sift through
still being identified in April 2008, almost seven
supplier LabWare. ‘The most important
356,000 parts in order to identify the remains,
years after the event.
requirement is traceability, meaning being
which had been exposed to temperatures able to record all transactions made by
exceeding 2,000°C. Comparisons of DNA situation,’ explains De Farias. Standardised both the system and by users,’ states Lynge
recovered from the wreckage with that from results, which followed the same procedure Christiansen, responsible for the development
relatives of the deceased formed the basis of and stored the data by the same method, of the LIMS at the Department of Forensic
the identification. coordinated across each laboratory, were vital Medicine. Christiansen says that, without the
A team from Applied Biosystems, led for the data to be meaningful as well as for LIMS, it would be impossible to adhere to
by Eduardo De Farias, set up its laboratory final reports to be generated. quality standards and the department would
information management system (LIMS) be reliant on databases and a paper trail.
SQL*LIMS to collate DNA profiles of victims
‘The forensics team from the
LabWare designed various modules to
and relatives. DNA typing involves scanning
São Paulo Criminal Institute
easily accommodate the requirements of
specific DNA regions, or loci, to build up a
had to sift through 356,000
forensic science. ‘Forensic laboratories have
DNA profile of the individual. The DNA is certain requirements that are often not
extracted and amplified by polymerase chain
parts in order to identify the
found in other types of laboratory,’ notes
reaction (PCR)-based methods to provide
remains, which had been
John Gabathuler, director, industrial and
the DNA fingerprint. Comparing DNA
exposed to temperatures
environmental at LabWare. ‘At the same
fingerprints from two individuals can show time, some modules which were designed for
whether or not they are related, and the
exceeding 2,000°C’
other types of laboratory lend themselves well
DNA data from relatives and victims was fed to forensics.’
into the SQL*LIMS to positively identify the ‘Identifying the victims of accidents ‘One of the key requirements for a forensic
remains. such as this one is never easy,’ says De LIMS includes functionality that supports
‘One of the main challenges was to organise Farias. The identification process took compliance with the relevant regulatory
the process across the six laboratories involved, approximately three months, with 80 per requirements,’ comments Steve Kemp,
which covered two states in Brazil, and to do cent of the victims identified within the first informatics channel manager at Thermo
so under the intense pressure generated by the month. Approximately 15 to 18 per cent Fisher Scientific. The most widely referred
16
SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD february/march 2009 www.scientific-computing.com
SCWfeb09 pp16-19 Forensics.indd 16 4/2/09 10:42:04
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