CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Snuff - S3-E8

Corrected entry: Catherine tells the snuff film producer that they know he was infected with HIV by accidental blood transfer from the actress he killed because they 'tested the DNA of the HIV'. No, they didn't. HIV is a retrovirus - it has no DNA. It has RNA, a far simpler nucleic acid which is completely distinct from DNA. Catherine is a scientist, trained and experienced in genetic 'fingerprinting' - she would never make a mistake like that.

Correction: On the other hand, the producer in question isn't a scientist, trained or otherwise. She has to use terminology that he'll understand, rather than being 100% accurate. It's not the actual truth, but, you know, people do that sort of thing when they need to convince people. Most laypersons know about DNA, but few are familiar with RNA. And police are entirely allowed to lie to you, so that's not an issue either.

Tailkinker

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Too Tough to Die - S1-E16

Character mistake: Seven minutes into the show, Sarah Sidle is about to do an internal sexual assault exam/kit on an unconscious victim in the hospital, Sarah picks up a metal speculum and says aloud to the victim (in a presumed moment of empathy), that she "never really liked this part of my yearly exam. These things are always freezing" referring to the speculum in her hands. She then brings a speculum to her mouth and begins to blow open-mouthed on it two times, forcing her hot breath on it to warm it. She then begins to insert it into the victim as the scene cuts away. This is pure stupidity, as no trained CSI would ever contaminate the tool like this. Sarah just added her own DNA to the speculum via her breath so any saliva or body fluids are now on the speculum what she is about to use on this patient, who is now also exposed to any STDs from Sarah.

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Trivia: Anthony Zuiker chose to set the series in Las Vegas because that city's crime lab is the second most active in the United States, behind the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

Cubs Fan

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Play with Fire - S3-E22

Question: Why would Catherine take the blame for the lab explosion? If anyone was to blame it was Hodges. Since he accidentally turned on the hot plate and even admits that sometimes it gets switched on by others accidentally, if he had bothered to make sure he didn't switch it on before leaving the room, the explosion never would have happened.

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