Was reading and caught this article and found it interesting so i figured I would share
http://cbs13.com/local/uc.davis.duct.2.1234893.htmlUCD Spends $150,000 To Study... Duct Tape?
Conclusions Could Advance Forensic Science
More Local News
Reporting
Mike Dello Stritto
DAVIS, Calif. (CBS13) ―
It may seem absurd -- $150,000 in taxpayer dollars being used to study duct tape -- but the work done inside a U.C. Davis laboratory could change the way evidence is used in criminal trials everywhere.
"I agree, it sounds flaky," laughed Fred Tulleners, the director of the forensic science department at U.C. Davis.
Tulleners believes the grant from the federal government will establish statistics that show each tear of a strip of duct tape is unique, a valuable resource for crime scene investigators.
A graduate student studied 100 pieces of duct tape, pairing them with the corresponding tape torn from it. It's an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, Tulleners said.
"It takes time and patience," he added.
The data from the experiment is designed to back up what is currently just opinion in criminal courts.
"Current testimony is that duct tape physically matches, but they can't put any statistics on it," Tulleners explained. "They can say, 'In my opinion, it's unique,' but [lawyers] can say, 'How do you know that? Have you examined 100? Have you examined 1,000?"
The $150,000 is part of the $2 million given to the university to study forensic evidence. The bulk of the money is going to something more traditional: bullets and bullet casings.
"Every gun will leave some kind of signature and we want to see if that can be duplicated or not," Tulleners said.
Researchers will use the same idea with duct tape in sampling bullet casings and bullets -- they are planning a mammoth project of cataloging a database of 10,000, allowing automatic computer cross-matching of ammo fired from the same gun.
That will give lawyers more ammo to prove innocence or guilt in court.
The conclusions from the study are expected to be hitting courtrooms sooner rather than later; researchers expect it to be used in about three years.
