The MythBusters team of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman appeared in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode “The Theory of Everything” during the show’s eighth season. Their scene featured the guys standing by as Nick Stokes (George Eads) sprayed a dummy with pepper spray and then shot it with a stun gun—causing it to burst into flames. MythBusters recently recreated the situation to see if CSI got it right. You can find two embedded videos after the jump!

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A study that will be published next month in the Vanderbilt University Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law challenges the so-called “CSI Effect”, which suggests that jurors are influenced by what they see on shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spinoffs. The report uses information gathered in Washtenaw County, Michigan, and concludes that most jurors are knowledgeable about technology such as DNA, fingerprints and ballistic evidence regardless of which television series they watch.

The study also found that fans of shows like CSI were just as likely to return a guilty verdict in cases that rely on more traditional evidence like witness testimony. “Our conclusion was that there was no such thing as a ‘CSI Effect,’” said Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Donald Shelton. “We suggested it should be called the ‘tech-effect’ because it simply reflects the knowledge people have of the role of technology in our culture.”

CSI: New York‘s Special Effects Coordinator Dave Kelsey gives fans a glimpse at “Edna”, the newest addition to the NYPD crime lab’s array of cool gadgets. (Embedded video after the jump.)

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The season ten premiere of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, “Family Affair”, featured a spectacular opening shot in which the camera found its way through the middle of the action during one hectic moment in the lab. Check out behind-the-scenes info about the scene, including a video, after the jump!

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The CSI: Miami episode slated to air November 9, “Bone Voyage”, which is the first part of the CSI franchise crossover, will feature a real forensic photo taken by Stephanie Marciniak when she was a student at Trent University in Ontario, Canada. The photo shows a saw pattern on bone. “The fact that they used something with scientific merit is pretty interesting,” Marciniak said. “It’ll make everything look pretty, I guess, and lend some validity to what they’re doing.”

Fans of CSI: New York will be familiar with the virtual autopsy room featured in the latest episode, “Battle Scars”. While real technology has not yet reached the level shown on TV, Swedish scientists have created a 3D Virtual Autopsy Table which is already being used as a supplement to traditional autopsy techniques. You can watch a demo of the Virtual Autopsy Table after the jump.

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Last week’s episode of CSI: Miami, “Bolt Action”, featured a weather phenomenon known as a “bolt from the blue”. Such lightning strikes are real, but the show’s treatment included several inaccuracies. (Episode spoilers after the jump.)

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