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Forensic Science

Sweep a crime scene with a torch, dust for fingerprints, split ink into colours, copy DNA with PCR and weigh the clues on a deduction board.

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The course

7 worlds · 26 lessons

World 1 · Reading a Crime Scene

FREETraces, records and how specific a clue really is
  1. 01Every contact leaves a trace: Locard's principleA scene is a record that was written without anyone meaning to · 10 min
  2. 02Secure, photograph, sketch: documenting the sceneThe record must be made before the scene is changed · 11 min
  3. 03Chain of custody: who held it, and when?A result is only as good as the record of the item behind it · 10 min
  4. 04Class and individual evidence: how specific is a clue?A clue narrows the search by some amount, never by magic · 11 min

World 2 · Fingerprints: Loops, Whorls and Arches

PROWhat a print is, how it is read and how sure we can be
  1. 01Ridges on your fingertips: what makes a printSweat, oil and a pattern you grew before you were born · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Loops, whorls and arches: three pattern familiesThe first sort of every print · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Minutiae: the tiny details that decide a matchWhere the ridges end, split and dot · 11 minPRO
  4. 04How sure can we be? Uncertainty and examiner biasA strong method is not the same as a perfect one · 11 minPRO

World 3 · Ink Chromatography

PROSplit a colour, put a number on it and compare pens
  1. 01Splitting a colour: how paper chromatography worksWater climbs the paper and carries each dye at its own speed · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Rf values: putting a number on a colourA ratio of two distances you can measure with a ruler · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Which pen wrote the note? Comparing inksWhat the strip can show and what it cannot · 11 minPRO

World 4 · Footprints and Height

PROShoes, feet and the length of a stride
  1. 01Reading a footprint: what the shoe saysClass features from the maker, individual features from the wearer · 10 minPRO
  2. 02From foot to height: estimating a personA useful range, never an exact number · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Stride and speed: walking or running?What a line of footprints adds to a single print · 10 minPRO

World 5 · Copying DNA and DNA Fingerprinting

PROProfiles, PCR, gels and the care needed to read them
  1. 01DNA as an ID: what is (and is not) in a profileA short code of numbers, not a life story · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Copying DNA: the PCR ideaHow a few cells become millions of copies · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Three temperatures, one cycleHeat, cool, build: the rhythm of PCR · 11 minPRO
  4. 04The gel: sorting DNA by sizeA race through a jelly, won by the smallest pieces · 10 minPRO
  5. 05Reading the bands: a match, a mixture, a doubtA good report says how sure it is · 12 minPRO

World 6 · Fibres and Hair Under the Microscope

PROSmall threads, big limits
  1. 01Natural and synthetic fibresCotton, wool, silk, nylon and what each looks like at 400 times · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Hair under the lens: cuticle, cortex, medullaWhat a hair says, and what it cannot · 10 minPRO
  3. 03Trace on a coat: matching fibres to a sceneHow rare is it, and how did it get there? · 11 minPRO

World 7 · Case Closed: the Deduction Board

PROWeigh the clues, catch your own bias, then write the report
  1. 01From clues to a claim: how to reasonA conclusion is a bridge, and each clue is a plank · 11 minPRO
  2. 02Bias and the CSI effectThe risks that sit inside the person doing the thinking · 11 minPRO
  3. 03Case 1: The Missing PaintingUse every tool, then explain why the others are out · 18 minPRO
  4. 04Case 2: The Forged Note, your own reportSay what the evidence shows, and what it does not · 18 minPRO
Forensic Science — interactive 3D lab · Novareka