Bloody Science!
Client • BBC Science Focus
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A gory infographic about the controversial science of blood spatter analysis.
A violent crime scene can appear chaotic, complex and gruesome. However, in the eyes of a forensic investigator the same scene looks very different. Their expertise can distil meaning from the chaos; a fingerprint that holds a vital clue, hair fibres that offer essential context, or a drop of blood, the position and angle of which casts the scene in a whole new light, revealing part of the story previously unseen. Blood holds a particular value to forensic science because it’s predictable. Investigators can use principles from biology, physics and mathematics to understand the placement, distribution and shape of blood, and uncover key information from a scene. Biologically, blood is an essential ingredient to life. But to a forensic investigator, it could also be an essential factor in understanding a person’s death.
This infographic for BBC Science Focus magazine explores the science of blood and what it's analysis can reveal, as well as providing an overview of what forensic scientists look for at a crime scene. It also explain the history of the science, and why it remains controversial to this day.
