(Wiley-Blackwell) Potentially key fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered due to shortcomings in the way it is reported, according to a report published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Researchers involved in the study have devised a statistical model to enable the weight of fingerprint evidence to be quantified, paving the way for its full inclusion in the criminal identification process.

(Office of Naval Research) The chief of naval research will speak about autonomy and other robotics challenges and opportunities during a presentation at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Unmanned Systems Program Review 2012 on Feb. 9. Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, who heads the Office of Naval Research, will give his remarks at 9 a.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. Klunder will update conference attendees about ongoing efforts and discuss opportunities for engagement in various programs.

Scientists have tapped onto the visual cortex of the congenitally blind by using sensory substitution devices (SSDs), enabling the blind in effect to “see” and even describe objects.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 brought an influx of Soviet mathematicians to US institutions, and those scholars' differing areas of specialization have changed the way math is studied and taught in this country, according to new research.

DNA sequencing to detect genetic mutations can aid in the diagnosis and selection of treatment for cancer. Current methods of testing DNA samples, Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing, occasionally produce complex results that can be difficult or impossible to interpret. Scientists have now developed a free software program, Pyromaker, that can more accurately identify such complex genetic mutations.