The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.– Albert Einstein
Friday, January 30, 2015
ARR # 1 Period 5
Follow this link and read the article posted there. In the space below, leave a comment. You should react to the article AS WELL AS your classmates comments. Feel free to pose questions that will invigorate the conversation.
It baffles me how even the seemingly trivial minutiae of a crime scene can be so significant to the case. For example, one hair follicle or one fingerprint can be the difference of a whole case. Also, I am surprised about how many people are involved with investigating and solving crimes and how specific and focused their roles are. -Hannah A.
I agree with you on this, Hannah. I think it is interesting to learn about the many different people and jobs involved in investigating and solving a crime. It is crazy to think that any little detail could be of importance. There are so many small details and hidden things that could be essential in solving a case. If you do not know to look out for certain things or do not carefully analyze them you could be taking away an important part in solving the crime. It also shows how our ability to solve crime has evolved and become advanced with new technology, tactics, etc. It is sort of reassuring to know how far we have come and know there will be more advancement in the future. -Mary H.
yes it is crazy that lots of people have to do with crime scene Hannah i did not know this till know that all this work goes in to a crime scene do you think that this is why it takes so long for when we are trying to know what happens at a crime scene
Hannah and Jakiel both mentioned how a follicle or fingerprint can solve a crime, and hearing that things like this can solve crimes is amazing. In terms of the time it takes to analyze a crime scene, I thought that it took a lot longer than the given 12 hours mentioned in the article to solve a crime, it is also amazing that 0.2% of human DNA is different given that 99.8% is all the same. -RJ A
I agree with everyone that there is an interesting reality to crime scene investigations and how significant the small details are in solving crimes. But what I find especially intriguing is how advanced analysis of bodies has become. In the 1970s, guessing was a legitimate form of finding a victim's death date and yet only 40 years later the same problems are solved with much more precise answers with fairly simple methods of deduction.
I like what everyone else has mentioned so far. I think CSI and forensic scientist seems like really interesting things (although I do not plan on trying to get a job in that career field.) Also, I think what RJ pointed out with the observation that only a very little is different in the DNA of different people, makes this feat more impressive and astonishing. The extent of my previous knowledge on the subject of forensics was based on my watching of crime shows, and the fact that analyzing the DNA and fingerprints for evidence takes 12 hours or longer is very interesting to me because that is something that you might not be able to understand by watching dramatized versions of the process on TV in the form of 1 hour programs. For example,viewers of shows like CSI might not even realize how extensive and time-consuming the process is because they are so used to watching the entire sequence play out in a matter of 60 minutes. Lastly, I want to bounce off of Bryan's comment because it is interesting thing to think about how much has changed since as recently as the '70s; this reminds me of the stories I have heard about people who have been falsely accused of crimes like murder and rape long ago, and were sentenced to life in prison based on weak evidence and accusations, and then later with the creation of the crime scene investigations, they were finally able to prove their innocence, so that's another thing I find fascinating about this cool job because it serves justice. -Jimbo
From just having a DNA sample extracted from a crime scene has really improved the way to deliver justice to those individuals that deserve it. It was thanks to this that it made it possible to apprehend the "Green River Killer" in washington, if it wasn't for this we wouldn't be able to arrest the current criminals in the united states today. When i was reading this article i was really fascinated by the fact that 99.98% of the DNA sequence is identical to everyone else but the .02% remaining makes a significant difference in giving a person a personal identity that makes us all different. I want to ask that, if someone else was able to see your DNA sequence would it be alright just like in the movie Gattaca? -Jahmel W.
I agree with RJ, Jahmel, and Jimmy about how surprising it was that only .02% of a persons DNA is unique to them, and 99.98% of your DNA is just the same as everyone elses. When I think of DNA I think of how it makes a person who they are, so knowing that only .02% is unique to you is really shocking. I also found it really interesting how crime scene investigators can determine so much just by analyzing the corpse. For example, they can determine when the person died and usually how they died just by studying and examining it, which is pretty crazy to me that they can determine that from just a body.
I agree with the people who are also shocked by the stat that only .02% of DNA is what gives each person distinct features. This shocked me because .02% is such a small number but yet it makes everyone different. Also the idea that a small fingerprint can lead to a suspect is shocking because finger print scanning was a distant idea a few decades ago now it is used in many cases. I believe that many shows exaggerate forensics in order to enhance the show. -Chris D
I also agree with the fact that only .02% of your actual DNA is different from others is shocking. When you watch CSI and all other different cop shows they make it seem so easy to differentiate people using their DNA. It's almost blasphemy that 99.98% is the same as others. People perceive that their DNA is sacred to them and is rarely the same to anyone else's. I disagree with Chris though on finding fingerprint scanning shocking. It is known that your fingerprints are different from everyone else's and is a big lead in a crime investigation. I feel as if that not shocking at all.- ADLR
I agree that it is very shocking for DNA to be 99.8% the same. Those small details are really important to solve cases and find differences in people. Kristen
I think that Alex made a good point when talking about how its so surprising that people share 99.98% of DNA. I think this is fascinating in its own right. The fact that DNA is not truly special to every individual. CSI misleads a lot of people. I think that many people are misledby social media and other types of media as Chris mentioned
I agree with Hannah, RJ, and Bryan that it is amazing how little details, such as a fingerprint or skin under a victim's fingernails, can help solve crimes. I also agree with RJ and Chris that it is crazy how the DNA of every human is 99.8% identical. The Body Farm mentioned in the article was very surprising to me because I did not think that there would be a place that had dead bodies laying around in different scenarios in order to study decomposition. I just figured that there would be tests to run that could determine who a body or skeleton belonged to and how old it was. -Mike
I was also very surprised about The Body Farm mentioned in the article. The experiments the researchers do are pretty incredible. I had no idea that researchers purpposely put cadavers in specific environments to gain more information on how bodies decompose over time. I wonder where they actually conduct these experiments. The work that crime scene investigators do is very impressive to me. Their jobs are pretty significant and seem to be very tough.
I am also very surprised that only 0.2% of a person's DNA is different from everyone else, and that crime analyst is able to use that 0.2% to find a suspect. Also, the rate that a body decomposes with the help of maggots, or the larvae of blowflies is so fast that it could make a body with flesh to a complete skeleton in two weeks is amazing. I never knew that a body could decompose that fast. It also surprises me that a crime analyst could take just a little swab of a blood stain and multiply the DNA so it can be used in the crime. -Sarah
I think that it is crazy that 0.2% of DNA seperates me from everyone else. The fact that that 0.2 of the DNA difference is used to finding a criminal or not. The whole body decomposing faster with maggots, is really gross, so no further comments on that. Just as Aoife said, I am curious as to where these experiments take place. I also want to know if they have to have a certain type of either licence or consent to conduct these experiments.
I agree with many people on the fact that it is shocking to know that only .2% of DNA separates individuals from the rest of the population. This demonstrates how advanced technology really is, and how science is an incredibly vital aspect to the world. Without this kind of technology, a majority of crimes would most likely go unsolved. Also, I agree with Hannah on the fact that it is surprising how a small detail such as a simple hair follicle can be used to identify a criminal. This makes me believe that those who get away with murder are geniuses (using their intelligence for the wrong purposes of course). Lastly, I was appalled to read that investigators can determine how long ago it was that a victim died in order to narrow down when the crime happened. It is interesting that scientists have the ability to examine bodies and determine this.
I agree with Jill about how technology advanced that it is possible to collect data from the collected evidence and connect it to the database. I find it really interesting how we leave clues everywhere and analysts can not miss any detail. If they do, they might miss the message behind. When you watch CSI, they use certain valuable and advanced technology. Overall, this is very interesting to know. -Natalia
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt baffles me how even the seemingly trivial minutiae of a crime scene can be so significant to the case. For example, one hair follicle or one fingerprint can be the difference of a whole case. Also, I am surprised about how many people are involved with investigating and solving crimes and how specific and focused their roles are. -Hannah A.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with you on this, Hannah. I think it is interesting to learn about the many different people and jobs involved in investigating and solving a crime. It is crazy to think that any little detail could be of importance. There are so many small details and hidden things that could be essential in solving a case. If you do not know to look out for certain things or do not carefully analyze them you could be taking away an important part in solving the crime. It also shows how our ability to solve crime has evolved and become advanced with new technology, tactics, etc. It is sort of reassuring to know how far we have come and know there will be more advancement in the future. -Mary H.
Deleteyes it is crazy that lots of people have to do with crime scene Hannah i did not know this till know that all this work goes in to a crime scene do you think that this is why it takes so long for when we are trying to know what happens at a crime scene
ReplyDeleteHannah and Jakiel both mentioned how a follicle or fingerprint can solve a crime, and hearing that things like this can solve crimes is amazing. In terms of the time it takes to analyze a crime scene, I thought that it took a lot longer than the given 12 hours mentioned in the article to solve a crime, it is also amazing that 0.2% of human DNA is different given that 99.8% is all the same. -RJ A
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that there is an interesting reality to crime scene investigations and how significant the small details are in solving crimes. But what I find especially intriguing is how advanced analysis of bodies has become. In the 1970s, guessing was a legitimate form of finding a victim's death date and yet only 40 years later the same problems are solved with much more precise answers with fairly simple methods of deduction.
ReplyDeleteI like what everyone else has mentioned so far. I think CSI and forensic scientist seems like really interesting things (although I do not plan on trying to get a job in that career field.) Also, I think what RJ pointed out with the observation that only a very little is different in the DNA of different people, makes this feat more impressive and astonishing. The extent of my previous knowledge on the subject of forensics was based on my watching of crime shows, and the fact that analyzing the DNA and fingerprints for evidence takes 12 hours or longer is very interesting to me because that is something that you might not be able to understand by watching dramatized versions of the process on TV in the form of 1 hour programs. For example,viewers of shows like CSI might not even realize how extensive and time-consuming the process is because they are so used to watching the entire sequence play out in a matter of 60 minutes. Lastly, I want to bounce off of Bryan's comment because it is interesting thing to think about how much has changed since as recently as the '70s; this reminds me of the stories I have heard about people who have been falsely accused of crimes like murder and rape long ago, and were sentenced to life in prison based on weak evidence and accusations, and then later with the creation of the crime scene investigations, they were finally able to prove their innocence, so that's another thing I find fascinating about this cool job because it serves justice. -Jimbo
ReplyDeleteFrom just having a DNA sample extracted from a crime scene has really improved the way to deliver justice to those individuals that deserve it. It was thanks to this that it made it possible to apprehend the "Green River Killer" in washington, if it wasn't for this we wouldn't be able to arrest the current criminals in the united states today. When i was reading this article i was really fascinated by the fact that 99.98% of the DNA sequence is identical to everyone else but the .02% remaining makes a significant difference in giving a person a personal identity that makes us all different. I want to ask that, if someone else was able to see your DNA sequence would it be alright just like in the movie Gattaca?
ReplyDelete-Jahmel W.
I agree with RJ, Jahmel, and Jimmy about how surprising it was that only .02% of a persons DNA is unique to them, and 99.98% of your DNA is just the same as everyone elses. When I think of DNA I think of how it makes a person who they are, so knowing that only .02% is unique to you is really shocking. I also found it really interesting how crime scene investigators can determine so much just by analyzing the corpse. For example, they can determine when the person died and usually how they died just by studying and examining it, which is pretty crazy to me that they can determine that from just a body.
DeleteI agree with the people who are also shocked by the stat that only .02% of DNA is what gives each person distinct features. This shocked me because .02% is such a small number but yet it makes everyone different. Also the idea that a small fingerprint can lead to a suspect is shocking because finger print scanning was a distant idea a few decades ago now it is used in many cases. I believe that many shows exaggerate forensics in order to enhance the show. -Chris D
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the fact that only .02% of your actual DNA is different from others is shocking. When you watch CSI and all other different cop shows they make it seem so easy to differentiate people using their DNA. It's almost blasphemy that 99.98% is the same as others. People perceive that their DNA is sacred to them and is rarely the same to anyone else's. I disagree with Chris though on finding fingerprint scanning shocking. It is known that your fingerprints are different from everyone else's and is a big lead in a crime investigation. I feel as if that not shocking at all.- ADLR
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is very shocking for DNA to be 99.8% the same. Those small details are really important to solve cases and find differences in people.
ReplyDeleteKristen
I think that Alex made a good point when talking about how its so surprising that people share 99.98% of DNA. I think this is fascinating in its own right. The fact that DNA is not truly special to every individual. CSI misleads a lot of people. I think that many people are misledby social media and other types of media as Chris mentioned
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hannah, RJ, and Bryan that it is amazing how little details, such as a fingerprint or skin under a victim's fingernails, can help solve crimes. I also agree with RJ and Chris that it is crazy how the DNA of every human is 99.8% identical. The Body Farm mentioned in the article was very surprising to me because I did not think that there would be a place that had dead bodies laying around in different scenarios in order to study decomposition. I just figured that there would be tests to run that could determine who a body or skeleton belonged to and how old it was. -Mike
ReplyDeleteI was also very surprised about The Body Farm mentioned in the article. The experiments the researchers do are pretty incredible. I had no idea that researchers purpposely put cadavers in specific environments to gain more information on how bodies decompose over time. I wonder where they actually conduct these experiments. The work that crime scene investigators do is very impressive to me. Their jobs are pretty significant and seem to be very tough.
ReplyDeleteI am also very surprised that only 0.2% of a person's DNA is different from everyone else, and that crime analyst is able to use that 0.2% to find a suspect. Also, the rate that a body decomposes with the help of maggots, or the larvae of blowflies is so fast that it could make a body with flesh to a complete skeleton in two weeks is amazing. I never knew that a body could decompose that fast. It also surprises me that a crime analyst could take just a little swab of a blood stain and multiply the DNA so it can be used in the crime. -Sarah
ReplyDeleteI think that it is crazy that 0.2% of DNA seperates me from everyone else. The fact that that 0.2 of the DNA difference is used to finding a criminal or not. The whole body decomposing faster with maggots, is really gross, so no further comments on that. Just as Aoife said, I am curious as to where these experiments take place. I also want to know if they have to have a certain type of either licence or consent to conduct these experiments.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many people on the fact that it is shocking to know that only .2% of DNA separates individuals from the rest of the population. This demonstrates how advanced technology really is, and how science is an incredibly vital aspect to the world. Without this kind of technology, a majority of crimes would most likely go unsolved. Also, I agree with Hannah on the fact that it is surprising how a small detail such as a simple hair follicle can be used to identify a criminal. This makes me believe that those who get away with murder are geniuses (using their intelligence for the wrong purposes of course). Lastly, I was appalled to read that investigators can determine how long ago it was that a victim died in order to narrow down when the crime happened. It is interesting that scientists have the ability to examine bodies and determine this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jill about how technology advanced that it is possible to collect data from the collected evidence and connect it to the database. I find it really interesting how we leave clues everywhere and analysts can not miss any detail. If they do, they might miss the message behind. When you watch CSI, they use certain valuable and advanced technology. Overall, this is very interesting to know.
ReplyDelete-Natalia