About Us
STACS DNA delivers the only sample management software designed specifically for forensic DNA labs. Since 2000, we've helped DNA database and casework labs accelerate throughput, prevent errors, cut costs, improve data quality and meet accreditation standards.
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Forensic DNA Scientist Joins STACS DNA Team
Malena Jimenez, formerly a Criminalist with Missouri State Highway Patrol's Crime Laboratory Division, has joined STACS DNA as a Field Application Specialist. As a STACS-CW Enterprise customer for four years, Malena has seen first-hand how a large, multi-site lab significantly increased its efficiency and effectiveness.
For more information:
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Reminder
The NIJ DNA Grant Program Funds Labs for STACS DNA Software!
The NIJ, which defines STACS software as a DNA Module, has funded several DNA labs for STACS software. Your DNA lab could be funded to cover the investment in STACS DNA software and services. Your team could drastically increase your DNA sample processing throughput, prevent errors, improve quality and lower costs - without hiring a single new employee - within the next year.
You don't need a LIMS to benefit; STACS software works standalone in DNA labs. If you have a LIMS, STACS can interface with it, not replace it, as we do in many labs. That's how you reduce duplicate data entry and input errors.
For more information, refer to the top story and links in the April edition of DNA Dispatch.
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What's New?
We've subtly updated our look, from "STaCS" to "STACS". We also changed our tagline to "Sample Tracking and Control Software for DNA Labs." That's what STACS DNA stands for - what we do is in our name.
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Events
Come see us at:
Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists Annual Meeting (MAAFS)
May 19-23, 2014
State College, PA
Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administrators (AFDAA)
July 31 - August 1, 2014
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In the News: North America
First state-wide deployment of Rapid DNA
Arizona DPS law enforcement officers have been trained to take DNA samples to the Rapid-HIT instrument for processing and generate search results in hours rather than months. This puts agencies in control of which DNA cases need to be fast-tracked without impacting the important work being performed by laboratory personnel.
NIST received more than 1300 applications for new committees to strengthen forensic science
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has received more than 1300 applications for new committees and subcommittees it is establishing to help strengthen forensic science. NIST opened an application period for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) on April 11. OSAC is designed to strengthen forensic science by supporting the development of standards and guidelines to ensure accuracy of methods and practices in the nation's crime laboratories.
Lemonade stand DNA matches rape suspect
Police get a DNA hit from a cup used at a lemonade stand after a suspected predator tried to lure two girls to his car in Tulsa, OK.
The FBI updated its "CODIS and NDIS Fact Sheet" FAQ section to answer this question.
It was a real-life mystery that could have come straight from the pages of a modern-day detective novel shows why DNA evidence should never be the sole evidence in any conviction.
Brave new world for justice: DNA test for identical twins
As methods of telling these twins apart emerge, the courts should be eager to test them out, but that is not necessarily the case.
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In the News: International
DNA gives hope to human trafficking victims
Human rights agencies estimate that as many as 29.8 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. One scientist is developing DNA-typing methods, especially rapid DNA technologies, that can be deployed on a global scale to increase arrests, prosecutions and convictions of human traffickers with the added benefit of reducing the need for victim testimony during legal proceedings.
Forensics questions as murder review is kept secret
The independence of Scotland's crime labs has been questioned after revelations that a report into a gangland killing is being kept secret.
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Articles of Interest
Forcing change in forensic science
Five years ago, the National Academy of Sciences put out a report condemning the state of forensic science. It concluded that many common forensic techniques lack sufficient scientific underpinnings. Thousands of convictions were thrown into question. Now, a glimmer of progress is starting to emerge.
Courts must evolve with science
Scientific knowledge and expert opinions constantly evolve. When science marches on, how should the justice system respond? We have an obligation to resolve errors to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the criminal justice system.
The DNA lab and contamination - Forensic Magazine
Once evidence is received into the DNA laboratory, how is contamination minimized and what are the potential sources of epithelial cells?
Solving human crimes with animal DNA - Evidence Technology Magazine
Animal DNA profiling is becoming more commonplace as investigators realize that the same techniques used in human DNA analysis can also be applied to animal evidence such as saliva, urine, feces, blood, and hair.
DNA analysis exposes flaws in an inexact forensic science
With the advent of DNA analysis in the late 1980s, apparent matches of hair samples ultimately proved to be not quite as flawless as people had been led to believe.
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