Rabu, 16 September 2009

Forensic Science For Insect Lovers

Students pursuing a forensic science degree will need to be equipped with some knowledge in entomology. It is possible to be full majors of entomology specialists resulting in their being forensic entomologists. Entomology is the study of insects and is a branch of zoology. Students aiming to specialize in entomology will need to be equipped of the knowledge of the myths involved with the subject.

One myth you may encounter in the course of a forensic science degree is that forensic entomologists are able to make an accurate estimate of a person's time of death. As a matter of fact, it is the medical pathologists that do time of death estimates and not the forensic entomologist. All forensic entomologists can do is make a very precise estimate of postmortem time. This is because forensic entomologists have a concrete knowledge of the growth and lifespan of insects.

For the development of these specific species of insects, many variables affect its rate of growth. Under optimum conditions, growth rate of insects are very fast. Students and professional forensic entomologists create a baseline for insects development time in order for them to be able to estimate how long a dead body has been deceased. For instance, a colony of insects that have grown upon a corpse and was able to reproduce would give a specific time span.

Specifically, insects that feed on human tissue only feed on dead human tissue. For example, the Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis or the flesh fly prefers the indoors and grows as it feeds. It also has the capacity to give live birth, which has generated theories on the spontaneous generation of life.

Enodia port-landia butterflies also known as the Southern Pearly Eye which are plentiful in the South East United States are commonly found at human death situations because they feed on body fluids which are abundant in sugar. Wasps and bees are also important as their existence in a crime scene indicate many clues to the forensic entomologist.

Insects are now used to determine levels of toxicity due to drug use when no other source is present. When there is no blood, tissue or urine, insects are used to detect the presence of narcotics or other drugs. Students of a forensic science degree specializing in entomology need to be equipped with enough knowledge of toxicology for cases involving drug use. Certain fly larvae do not grow as fast as a result of a certain type of narcotics.

Future forensic science degree holders as well as Forensic entomologists are also consultants for major beverage or food corporations. In cases regarding contamination of products with insects, forensic entomologist are the ones who state the degree of contamination and if it occurred after the customer purchased the product or while the product was being created in the plant. A forensic scientist is also called in to court cases regarding emotional trauma caused by such structural or business related bug infestations such as bed bugs in hotels, which feed on animals as well as human blood.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Cos

Television Has Changed Forensic Science

The highly popular television series Crime Scene Investigation or CSI has brought about a new demand for students pursuing a forensic science degree. Techniques that are mostly provided by biomedical specialists are being used to solve crime-scenes and there is a large need for specifically forensic specialists in this area. Now available for students are an undergraduate Bachelor's Degree, a post-graduate Master's degree or a certification which you can augment your particular undergraduate degree with.
The basis for students of dentistry, medicine or veterinary medicine can be provided by a forensic science degree. A varied field which blends the different skills of various subjects such as digital and non-digital photography, physics, law, chemistry with an emphasis in DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid analysis is what comprises this particular field of study.
Holders of a degree in forensic science are able to quickly find employment as there is quite a need for specialists in this field today, due to the rising population causing the rising crime rate. Forensic science degree holders have employment opportunities in hospitals, police departments, crime or private laboratories, death investigators, general forensic scientists, laboratory technicians or forensic computer scientists among others.
Jobs include technical assistance with lie detector test, skills in computer analysis, academic assistance with psychological profiling, statistics and forensic engineering.
An establishment accredited by the Accreditation Commission of the American Academy of Forensic Science is highly recommended for forensic science degrees. Many different schedules are offered as part time or full-time course loads or online as well as on-campus learning. Forensic science degrees finished at accredited institutions with a preferably professional staff will give you better facilities, higher quality computer interface equipment, software and forensic-specialized libraries.
Internships usually given in the third year of study are available at police-departments in partnership with the establishment. This is a big step in accomplishing your forensic science degree course requirements as it is in your internship that you get an approximate feel for the demands of this type of work and exposure to real live crime scene investigations.
Your education should emphasize similar skills as that of the scientific method. Emphasis on research, presentation methods and publications on crime-related problems solved. Specialized studies in Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Toxicology, High Technology Crime Investigation and Forensic Molecular Biology are eventually, the choices available for each student to concentrate in.
A four year undergraduate Bachelor's Degree, a two year certification or a post graduate Master's degree are available in this course of study. Certifications are available for those who have finished a different undergraduate course such as law or medicine and would like to augment their knowledge with forensics.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Cos

How to Cram For Exams In Under 2 Days

It's that stressful time of the year again. You have been going out and drinking all week and now you have an exam to perform in the next few days. There's not much time to dwell on the past on why you didn't turn up to the lectures or tutorials. It is now time to get down and dirty.

Here are three easy tips you can compress weeks of lectures and tutorial into a few days:

1. Look at past exam papers. Try to collect as much past exam paper info as possible. The questions in the exams will tell you exactly what you need to know and memorize. Some lecturers are lazy and will tend to use past exam questions in your new exams. Also, make sure you try to find the solutions to these questions. Sometimes you don't have enough time to look back at your notes or find the solutions in your text book.

2. Find a classmate or friend that has already done the exam the previous year. These people are very helpful in explaining certain theories and solutions. They will also condense their knowledge and give tips on what component of the exam to focus on. For example, some subjects have some filler materials in them and your friend of yours will tell you what materials you don't need to learn.

3. Read all the text material in one shot and then try to summarize it without looking or referring back to it. This forces you to memorize and focus on what the subject is about.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tito_King

Facts About Jupiter's Atmosphere

Jupiter's upper atmosphere experiences differential rotation. It rotates at different speeds due to the variance in the atmosphere and its unusual shape. This may also be partly due to the fact that Jupiter is almost entirely gaseous.
Jupiter is composed of 10% helium and 90% hydrogen, and also has traces of "rock", ammonia, water and methane. This is quite like the composition of the Solar Nebula, which formed the solar system. Saturn's composition is very similar to Jupiter's, but Neptune and Uranus have much less helium and hydrogen.
The facts about Jupiter that we can claim for certain about the interior of the planet (as well as the other gas planets) is only indirect knowledge, and it seems likely that it will remain thus. The data that scientists have received from the probe Galileo only extends to 150 kilometers below the tops of the clouds.
Scientists hypothesize that the core of Jupiter is made of rocky materials of a mass that equals ten to fifteen planets the size of Earth.
Above Jupiter's core is the bulk of the gas planet, which is metallic liquid hydrogen. These are the same electrons and protons found in the interior of the sun, but at a much lower temperature. On Jupiter, the hydrogen is a liquid, not a gas, and it conducts electricity. It is the source of the magnetic field of Jupiter. It also likely contains helium and some types of "ices".
Jupiter's outermost layer is made up primarily of ordinary helium and hydrogen. Other simple molecules are present in minute amounts in the atmosphere.
Scientists seeking facts about Jupiter expected to find a good deal of oxygen in Jupiter's atmosphere, but data from the probe Galileo suggests that Jupiter has much less oxygen than exists around the sun.
Jupiter and its sister gas planets have winds of high velocity that are confined in broad latitude bands. The winds in adjacent bands blow in different directions. The colored bands that dominate the planet's appearance are the result of slight temperature and chemical differences between the bands. The darker bands are called belts and the lighter bands are known as zones.
Information from the Galileo probe has indicated that the winds of Jupiter are faster than scientists expected - about 400 mph. Galileo also found that the atmosphere of Jupiter is very turbulent. This tells us that the planet's winds are driven more by internal heat, rather than like Earth's winds, which are driven by heat from the sun.
The bright colors one can see in the clouds of Jupiter are most likely the result of chemical reactions of the trace elements in the atmosphere of the planet. Facts about Jupiter indicate that this may perhaps involve sulfur, whose compounds have been known to take on many different colors.
The colors seem to be correlated with the altitudes of the clouds - reds are highest, then whites and browns, with blue the lowest. Sometimes scientists are able to see the lower layers of the atmosphere through holes in the upper layers.
The Great Red Spot of Jupiter has been seen by observers for over 300 years. It is actually an oval, about 12,000 by 25,000 km, large enough to hold two planets the size of Earth. Other, smaller spots have been seen for decades. Observations using infrared, and the type of rotation indicate that the Great Red Spot is actually a region of high pressure, with cloud tops colder and higher than the surrounding regions. There have been similar "structures" seen on Neptune and Saturn. It's not known how these high pressure regions can last for so long.
Jupiter radiates more energy than it gets from the sun. Jupiter's interior is hot - probably about 12,000 degrees kelvin. Jupiter doesn't produce energy the same way the sun does, however. The sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion, but Jupiter's interior is too cool for nuclear reactions to take place.
Jupiter has an extremely large magnetic field - a lot stronger than Earth's. The magnetosphere extends more than 650 million kilometers away - past Saturn's orbit. Facts about Jupiter confirm that its moons lie inside the scope of its magnetosphere.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenny_Styles