The history of forensics has changed significantly in the years since it was developed. Edson states, “In the 1540’s the French doctor Ambroise Paré laid the foundations for modern forensic pathology through his study of trauma on human organs.” Today the study of trauma on human organs is one of the most important tools for a forensic pathologist. Edson also points to, “In the 1820s Eugène François Vidocq pioneered the first use of ballistics and began taking plaster casts of shoe imprints.” Ballistics are used when firearms were used in a crime. The ballistics are used to figure out striations put onto the bullet from the barrel of the gun. After a personal experience with arsenic, “In the 1830s the chemist James Marsh used standard scientific testing to determine that a man murdered his grandfather by arsenic poisoning, and this is now known as the Marsh test.” The Marsh test is primarily used by forensic toxicologists to help determine if a person was poisoned by arsenic. Then, almost sixty years later, “The 1890s saw the first use of the Henry System for fingerprint classification. Around the same time, Edmund Locard developed the 12 matching points for fingerprint comparison.” The advancement of the technology used in forensics has helped to solve many cold cases. Forensic science covers many job descriptions in the field of …show more content…
DNA profiling was discovered in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys while checking the X-rays of a DNA experiment he was conducting at the University of Leicester. It was never imagined that DNA would be such an ingenious discovery in its early stages of development. The technology has progressed from taking days to analyze DNA to “…instruments that can analyze DNA in less than an hour and a half, making it possible to run the profile of the arrested suspect through the national database before they are released from custody.” The use of canine DNA to aid in solving a case is a new technology compared to the history of forensic science and DNA profiling. Even though canine DNA analysis is a relatively new technology, “The molecular analysis of animal DNA is increasingly being admitted into evidence in criminal justice systems around the world. This ranges from crimes against animals such as the poaching of protected wildlife species, animal cruelty and dog fighting, to the human-on-human crimes of rape, robbery and homicide where there is a transfer of animal biological