U.S. forensic laboratories are reeling from the enfeeblement of city, state and federal budgets. And with substantive regulatory changes slated for 2011, the labs may soon experience alterations in how they are accredited and managed, how their staffers are trained and certified, and how they are funded and paid for their services.

Advances in technology, increased scrutiny, and developing techniques demand a specific design response

The National Academy of Sciences has unanimously recommended 13 measures to address problems plaguing crime-lab forensics, including a call for massive forensic-science research sponsored and funded by a science-based agency outside the Department of Justice.

Its a little like the hit CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation–a team of experts solving crime by examining pieces of evidence from a scene where things have gone wrong.

A congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council finds serious deficiencies in the nation's forensic science system and calls for major reforms and new research.