Microscopes

Microscopes are used to see objects which are too small to see with the naked eye.Microscopes can be separeted into three classes: optical theory microscopes, electron microscopes and scanning probe microscopes.

Optical microscopes use refractive lenses of glass, plastic or quartz to focus light into the eye or another light detector.

Chromatography

Chromatography is where you place a small dot of solution onto a piece of chromatography paper. The paper is put into a jar containing a small amount of solvent. As the solvent rises through the paper it meets the dot of solution where it travels upwards with the solvent. When it has finished it might look like the picture above.

There is other types of chromatography like: column chromatography, planar chromatography and thin layer chromatography.

DNA fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting is a technique used by forensic scientists to indentify individuals on the basis of their respective DNA profiles. Although most human DNA sequences are common in humans, DNA fingerprinting makes use of highly variable repeat sequences, called variable number tandem repaets (VNTR).

It was first used in 1985 by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester and is now the basis of several national DNA databases

Blood types

blood types are a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of the re blood cells. Forensics use a system called the ABO system which measures antigens.

At a crime scene where there has been blood spilled - either the victim or the assailant - a serologist will take blood samples in order to identify whose blood it is.

More info about fingerprints

Fingerprints are used as a type of identification and there are many types of fingerprints.

There is the Latent print, Patent print and the plastic print.

Fingerprints have served all governments world wide during the past 100 years to provide accurate identifacation of criminals. No two fingerprints have ever been found alike in many of human and automated computer comparisons.