LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
I actually don't know how a DNA analyst tells human from animal DNA, but I don't think it's very difficult. We have an easy field test called Hexagon OBTI that can tell animal from human blood in a matter of minutes.
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i don't know. It would be worth a try.
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I don't solve cases. Detectives solve cases. I suppose I actually 'solve' them when I get a fingerprint hit for a burglary where there would have been no other way to ever identify the burglar. That happens maybe 5-10 times a year. Otherwise forensic science is usually confirming or eliminating factors that are already suspected, and often provides information (say, what caliber of gun was used or where the burglar got into the house) that doesn't point to the identity of the criminal but adds details to the overall event.
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I don't really watch any except the ones on the ID channel, and those are mostly about the investigation. But when they do mention forensic evidence, they're accurate.
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Private Detective
Has anyone ever caught you surveilling them, and what happened?
CBP Officer
Do you catch less marijuana at the border now that it's being decriminalized in some States?
Freelance Writer
Can a freelance writer live comfortably?
The coroner's or medical examiners office, or find a college with an anthropology major and ask one of the professors.
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After I spent 10 years as a secretary, bored out of my mind. I always liked mysteries and I liked science, but I never really thought about putting them together until long after my first round at college.
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It all depends on where you want to work and what they require. At the coroner's office we all had at least a bachelor's degree in a natural science like biology, because there were not any forensic degrees then. If you want to be a DNA analyst you will probably need to major in genetics or biochemistry. At the police department where I work, with our very small lab, we are only required to have a high school diploma--but you get extra points in the interview process for advanced degrees so we all have at least a bachelor's.Hope that helps.
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