Archives
Electronic Highways
They can do that? The world of forensic science
If you've turned on your TV in the past couple of years, chances are you've seen a show like "CSI," "Bones" or "NCIS," in which a group of skilled forensic experts descend upon a crime scene. Working with the slimmest of leads, the latest technology and a speedy crime lab, they manage to reconstruct the crime, match it to a suspect and provide the authorities with enough material to convict. Maybe you've wondered if this seeming wizardry is possible or merely Hollywood magic. Well, wonder no more.
Interactive Investigator: Your Introduction to the World of Forensic Science (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Myst/en/index.html) is a great place to start exploring this topic. The site contains a database that not only gives you an overview of forensic science in general, but also explains some of the various specialties that fall under what is really a very broad field. There's also a chronology of its history. Lastly, there's an interactive game where you can test out what you've learned from the site on a murder case.
The FBI's Handbook of Forensic Services (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/handbook/intro.htm) provides an opportunity to learn about the procedures behind crime-scene investigations. Clicking on the links on the top of the screen will bring you up to speed on the proper courses of action for searching a crime scene, examining evidence and maintaining safety at a crime scene.
DNA Interactive (http://www.dnai.org/d/index.html) has extensive information about the applications of DNA and the history of its discovery, as well as its manipulation. To access the forensic section of the site, click on "Applications" from the menu bar that runs across the top of the screen. One module of particular interest is "Human Identification," which covers four separate aspects of DNA related to forensic science. One of the most famous examples of the power of DNA evidence is a historical one. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks. For many years, it was rumored that Anastasia—one of the Tsar's daughters—had somehow escaped. A woman named Anna Anderson went to her deathbed insisting that she was Anastasia; her claim was never definitively proven or dismissed. The site has an extensive module that explains how DNA and forensic anthropology (the study of human remains) were used to solve the mystery.
Forensic entomologists combine the study of insects with forensics. These scientists can take larvae and insects from decomposing bodies and determine the time of death based on the life cycle of these insects. Using the clickable links from the American Board of Forensic Entomology's (http://www.research.missouri.edu/entomology/) Web site, you can learn how this specialized field of forensics evolved and read 10 case studies detailing its application at crime scenes.
Finally, should you want to delve even deeper, there is Zeno's Forensic Site (http://forensic.to/forensic.html). The site is organized into categories and has many links to other Web pages dealing with all aspects of the extensive world of forensic science. There are even many links to the fascinating fields of forensic psychiatry and psychology. Both are complex; essentially they apply psychiatry and psychology in a legal setting. The site All About Forensic Psychology (http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/index.html) has a number of pages dealing with the nature of forensic psychology, criminal profiling, psychopaths, psychological testing and much more.
These Web sites are just some of the many out there that can satisfy your appetite for information on forensic science.
—Michelle L. Zafron, University Libraries