Forensic science uses sophisticated laboratory tec Essay Example For Students

Forensic science uses sophisticated laboratory tec Essay hniques to detect the presence of substances in the victim, in the suspected criminal, or at the crime scene. For example, in determining whether alcohol was involved in a crime, the amount of alcohol in the blood can be measured in two ways. One is to measure the amount of alcohol exhaled in the breath of an individual, which reveals the concentration of alcohol in the persons blood. Recent advances in technology have produced alcohol breath-testing instruments so accurate that their results are evidential (capable of providing evidence in court). Blood-alcohol level can also be determined by actual blood tests, usually through gas chromatography. In this method, the blood sample is vaporized by high temperature, and the gas is then sent through a column that separates the various chemical compounds present in the blood. Gas chromatography permits the detection not only of alcohol but also of other drugs, such as barbiturates, cocaine, amphetamines, and heroin.1 The single greatest cause of accidents in the United States is the automobile. In 1913 the American industrialist Henry Ford introduced assembly-line techniques in the manufacture of motor vehicles. The subsequent increase in the number of automobiles in use was huge and led to a great rise in the motor-vehicle accident rate. In 1991 in the U. S., automobile accidents were responsible for about 49.4 percent of all accidental deaths, as compared with accidents in the home (about 23.3 percent); accidents in public places, including railroads and airplanes (about 20.5 percent); and work-related accidents (about 11.3 percent). The second greatest cause of accidental deaths is falls, which account for some 13.9 percent of all fatalities. Accidental deaths reached a high of 110,000 in 1936, with a death rate of 85.9 per 100,000. In 1991 the total was estimated at 88,000, with a death rate of 34.9 per 100,000; this was the lowest accidental death toll since 1924 (85,600). 2 .