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Forensic crime lab malpractice surfaces in Oregon
On 18 September, the Oregon State Police (OSP) announced it was investigating a forensic scientist, Nika Larsen, working at its Bend Crime Laboratory. She allegedly altered drug evidence. After Larsen came under suspicion in August, she was placed on administrative leave.
‘The evidence shows that she would take drugs and other items from the samples she was testing and replace them with over-the-counter drugs,’ says John Hummel, the district attorney (DA) for Deschutes County, Oregon.
Larsen analysed evidence in around 1500 criminal cases, 502 of which were in her jurisdiction, Hummel notes. ‘We will pull out the convictions and assess whether her analysis of the evidence impacted the results,’ he states. ‘If we think it did, then we will talk with defence counsel.’
Forensic misdeeds
Larsen has neither been arrested nor charged with a crime, but Hummel says his office has not completed its investigation. ‘We certainly see much evidence there to prove a crime,’ Hummel tells Chemistry World.
more
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/09/forensic-drug-crime-lab-malpractice-oregon
Graphene band gap heralds new electronics
Scientists in the US and France have produced graphene with a record high band gap of half an electronvolt (0.5 eV), which they claim is sufficient to produce useful graphene transistors. The band gap owes itself to highly periodic bonding on a silicon carbide substrate.
Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb-shaped lattice, exhibits a range of superlative properties. Since it was discovered in 2003, it has been found to have exceptional strength, thermal conductivity and electric conductivity. The last property makes the material ideal for the tiny contacts in electronic circuits, but ideally it would also make up the components – particularly transistors – themselves.
To do so, graphene would need to behave not just as a conductor but as a semiconductor, which is the key to the on–off switching operations performed by electronic components. Semiconductors are defined by their band gap: the energy required to excite an electron stuck in the valence band, where it cannot conduct electricity, to the conduction band, where it can. The band gap needs to be large enough so that there is a clear contrast between a transistor’s on and off states, and so that it can process information without generating errors.
Regular graphene has no band gap – its unusually rippled valence and conduction bands actually meet in places, making it more like a metal. Nonetheless, scientists have tried to tease them apart. By fabricating graphene in odd shapes, such as ribbons, band gaps up to 100 meV have been realised, but these are considered too small for electronics.
more
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/09/graphene-band-gap-electronics-transistors-semiconductor
Fresh views of Ceres but 'spots' remain mysterious
The Occator Crater, colour-coded to show differences in elevation, and its baffling bright spots
The team behind Nasa's Dawn mission to Ceres has released striking new images, but remains unable to explain the dwarf planet's most intriguing mystery.
Bright spots within a 90km-wide crater have baffled scientists since the probe spotted them on its approach.
Now in orbit around Ceres, Dawn is gathering detailed data about the world's geology and its composition.
Mission researchers described the latest images at the European Planetary Science Congress in Nantes, France.
Currently, their best guess to account for the spots is an expanse of some type of salt - but this is speculation.
more
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34403738
This height-coloured map of Ceres has a resolution of 400m per pixel. The bright spots are in the Occator Crater (centre-right)
Wisconsin: a paradise for white kids, hell for black kids
In Madison alone, 1,000 black children were arrested in 2013; only 3,247 black children live in Madison.
Wisconsin is rated one of the best states to raise kids -- if those kids are white. Black kids, on the other hand, face one of the highest juvenile arrest-rates in the country. "Juvenile" doesn't just refer to teenagers (as terrible as that would be): Wisconsin regularly arrests small black children, kids 12 and under, on bullshit charges like "loitering" and "disorderly conduct" (e.g., standing while black).
Sirena Flores, 17, said she was arrested for “blocking traffic” during a peaceful protest. Charles Jargue, 18, said he was ticketed as a 10 year old for “running in the street.” One 15-year-old said she was cited for disorderly conduct for picnicking in a restricted area of a park.
Christen Justice, who is black, 6’6’’ and 240 pounds, says he tries his best to avoid the Madison police, but it isn’t always easy. “Some people find me intimidating, I guess,” Justice said. “I try my best to stay out of everyone’s way, I try not to give the police an excuse to look at me twice or a reason to lock me away.
Nearly 13 percent of African American men in Wisconsin are incarcerated, a rate that’s twice the national average.
more
http://boingboing.net/2015/09/30/wisconsin-a-paradise-for-whit.html
Wednesday Toon Roundup 3- The Rest
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Syria
Carter
Health
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Meth
Climate
Mars
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