The New Murrey and Blue blog

I have made a habit of watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for over forty years. A single scientist, with guest contributors, covers a subject over three (to five) days and demonstrates some of the detail to a live audience of inquisitive children, who take part in the experiments.

Last year’s lecturer was Professor Dame Sue Black, formerly of Dundee University. After pointing out the difference between a potential crime victim and a historic discovery (seventy years), demonstrating what can be deduced about a person’s identity from their skeleton. Two children are shown the differences between male and female skeletons, then teeth, diet and trauma wounds are discussed. As an example, a case discovered in Oxford, where she now works, is shown:
1) To be male, from the pelvic shape and skull.
2) To be just under twenty, by his height and which bones have fused.
3) To be Scandinavian, from his diet.
4) To have died from the effects of two arrows, with larger exit wounds than entry.
From this she could deduce that he is likely to have been a Viking youth killed on St. Brice’s Day 1002 by the order of Ethelred II. At this point Professor Caroline Wilkinson, still of Liverpool John Moores University, the gold standard of facial reconstruction, produced a visage for him, as she did for Richard III, St. Nicholas (?) and Robert II.

The second part started with a probable crime scene in the kitchen of a “house” on set, although the body was absent. Different means, including a police dog, were used to gather evidence such as blood, fingerprints and DNA. The first set of fingerprints were those of someone who had been in every room – presumably the missing householder but the second set related to an individual who was only known to have been in the kitchen, such that they were found on a stray knife, so a “culprit” was arrested by an audience member. Professor Turi King made a late appearance and explained the use of DNA in this context, mentioning her part in Richard’s identification.

The conclusion was a court case over a “jewel theft” to demonstrate the science of visual identification. We watched a recording of the offence, after which some members of the audience tried to identify the thief traditionally and then through technology. A suspect was then put on trial and the audience comprised a jury, with the legendary Donald Findlay KC as counsel for the defence and Turi King turning up again.