The Royal Institution - Christmas Lectures 2022 - Secrets of Forensic science
The Royal Institution's 2022 Christmas Lectures - Secrets of forensic science, were broadcast on the BBC in late December. This collection of resources from the STEM Learning digital resource collection can support themes addressed in this three lectures series presented by Professor Dame Sue Black:
- What human bones can reveal about the age, sex, diet, ancestry and medical history of a person
- Identifying a person from one fragment and identifying the individuals found in a mass grave from the bones recovered
- The use of fingerprinting and DNA testing in court cases
- How to identify living people from their veins, wrinkles and memories.
During the lectures the professor reveals why people should not believe everything they see in TV crime dramas and highlights some stand-out cases from her remarkable career. She explores the major advances in forensic science, some of its limitations, and what the future might hold.
Further details about the lectures can be found on the Royal Institution website.
Resources
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Chemistry in Forensics
From Teachers TV, this Inside Science video looks at two murder investigations and uncovers the chemistry and biochemistry behind the forensic testing that helped resolve the cases.
Ten-year-old Damilola Taylor died...
Forensic DNA
This short audio feature Bene and Mal, two rather chatty microorganisms who ask who has the right to our DNA? They consider how it helps to solve crimes, but discuss if it is ethical to store this kind of information or if it should be kept private.
This resource has been produced by Fun Kids with...
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has developed a set of teaching resources based on its 2007 report The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues. These include teachers' background information as well as a set of activities. There are three activities to teach students to think about how fingerprints and DNA...
Forensic Chemistry
This booklet is part of the ‘Innovations in Practical Work’ series published by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). Forensic science is widely featured in TV dramas and newspaper articles, though many people have a distorted view of this area.
The booklet introduces a range of qualitative and...