More than 2,500 DNA samples are sitting in Vermont’s Forensics Lab in
Waterbury, waiting to be tested. Those samples come from convicted
felons who are required to provide a sample, and from evidence
collected at crime scenes. Results from the state’s DNA tests have
played an important role in several high profile cases in the state,
including the murder of Patricia Scoville. We take a closer look at how
two new federal grants could help the state unclog its backlog, and we
explore some of the legal issues surrounding DNA.
Also, UVM math professor Jeffrey Dinitz will be speaking at an upcoming
conference on "Combinatorics, Cryptography, and Computing." Which led
us to ask: what exactly is that? We talk with Dinitz about theoretical
math, and how it relates to every day life. And, come along with us as
we go in search of the summer’s last creemee.