Chapter 11: Body Fluids Check Access

This chapter details an overview of the role of the forensic biologist. Within it we explore a wide range of current and future body fluid examination and testing methods. We detail the basics of DNA and its use in forensic science, describing the standard DNA profiling methods as well as considering more specialised techniques. This includes the interpretation of DNA profiles and their statistical analysis as well as the use of the National DNA Database. The chapter moves on to discuss the evaluation of body fluid evidence and ‘touch DNA’ and the intricacies of interpreting this evidence. Throughout the chapter we describe a Case Assessment and Interpretation approach within a Bayesian framework and detail how this is used to develop case strategies and assess the evidence through the life of a case, thus ensuring robust and balanced interpretations.