Sophia Dobbins Using the Enviorment to Solve Crime

     Something that has sparked my personal interests has been the use of the environment in true crime. In my biology lab specifically the bounty portion we did a lab based around the use of plants in the environment that were used in order to solve a crime case. In the lab we read over several scenarios in which plants were used to solve a case. For an example we read a scenario in which a person was suspected to be a victim of a hit and run. The person was found dead on the side of the road by a building. After examining the environment around the victim and analyzing the clothes and the body of the victim it was determined that the victim had fallen off of the balcony above the street. This was determined because a piece of a plant on the balcony that was not native to the area was found on the victim. Without the use of botany and that plant being studied it would not have been determined that the victim fell off of the balcony. We discussed in class that this is a very limited field and environmental evidence is often missed because it is so rare to have properly trained individuals evaluating the scene specifically for environmental factors. Environmental evidence is something that needs to be observed as soon as possible as it is something that can change in an instant as the environment is always changing. If there were more people trained in the field it is possible that many cases could have been solved. The field is something that is very interesting to me and something I would have never even thought about if we hadn't discussed it in the lab.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kip Redick Example of an Outside Reading Post

 Recently I decided to give the renowned masterpiece by Jon Krakauer known as Into the Wild  another read. Needless to say I was just as heartbroken as the first time I read this novel/watched the 2007 film. I felt the need to discuss the work here simply because I feel it relates to a lot of discussions we have been having in class. I mean think about it, a young man sets out across the country to explore creation as it was intended to be experienced. As the story progresses, I remember being left with a sense of wonder, even thinking things along the lines of "I wonder would what happen if I just decided to do this one day?" I feel it's common knowledge how this story ends by now, with the main protagonist passing away alone in the wilderness, no one around for miles due to accidentally ingesting a poisonous plant. Although I have previously discussed how nature is God's most pure creation and should be treated as such, I feel I need to address a differ...
Read more

Kip Redick Introduction

To post, click “new post” to start your entry, you will then be able to write your blog. Make sure to start the blog with your name and the subject of the entry. Blog entries will be considered informal writing assignments and as such will be graded more in relation to content than style. Blog entries will contain questions and answers to questions, as well as reflections which relate to daily classroom discussions, completion of exercises, and reading assignments. Any questions the student has when reading or completing assignments should be written in their blog. Reflections may relate to connections the student makes between discussions in this class and those in other classes, between arguments raised in the readings in this class and those raised in other classes or in informal conversations. Students are encouraged to apply the ideas learned in this class to activities that take place outside of the class. These applications make great reflections. The student should bring questi...
Read more

Book review- The Call of the Wild

 I read The Call of the Wild by Jack London a few years ago and read it a second time a few months ago. It is one of my favorite books, not only because it involves the wilderness, dogs, and wolves but also because of the bond between Buck and John Thornton. At the beginning of the book, we learn that Buck is taken from his home in California and was sold as a sled dog in the Klondike Gold Rush. I remember the book being difficult to read at times due to the abuse that Buck and the other dogs faced, but it also opened my eyes to how important it is to respect every form of life, including a dog’s. While he was cared for and treated well in California, his master, Judge Miller, treated him more as a friend rather than a beloved companion, hence the lack of homesickness expressed by Buck. Even though Buck was a suburban dog, there was always something different about him, he was strong, brave, and fierce. I loved how the book was told from Buck’s perspective, there was so much he did...
Read more