Cervical Vertebrae: Wildlife Forensics and Video Progress

Nico l -

Hello all, and welcome to another week of interesting shenanigans. This week is more exciting than the last, as I was able to get out to the lab again finally, although I was not able to meet with the on site mentor; on the flipside I was able to take FOR 394 Wildlife forensics, with Dr. Harris, and it was really fun because he as doing a hands on lecture that day. There were several stations that all had 1 skull, 1 vertebrae, and 2 other mystery bones. Most of the stations had bone but 1-2 had sticks and other similar objects, I only know of 1 as I wasn’t able to finish all the stations. After the class I was able to go into his lab and take a few photos of bones, and he also showed me some equipment for ballistic testing, using these little PVC type balls filled with ballistic gel and covered in a skin-like substance. He said that he would be doing that in the fall, so if I am able I might see if I can participate in it.

To preface into this week, I am going to have that interview with the Gilbert PD, and I am also going to write a preliminary script for my final video, which will obviously go through a few iterations before the final draft. I also want to get out to ASU again but it is very annoying to drive out that far, especially through Phoenix, but it’s a small price to pay for knowledge. Below I will attach a few photos of the classroom I was in, and some bones.

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Comments:

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    vinesh_k
    Hey Nico! Great experience in the class, and I'm glad it was hands-on. I also like what you said about the drive being worth the knowledge you could gain. What was the most exciting thing you saw in the class? And why?
    joaquin_s
    Nico, you said that you weren't able to finish all of the stations. Is it something that you could return to, or has the opportunity to continue passed?
    sidd_s
    Hey Nico, it’s been great to see your project progress. I have a question about the ballistic gel you mentioned — what kinds of damage or patterns does ballistic gel help identify in the field?
    mj_j
    Hello Nico! I'm happy to see you were finally able to go back to the lab this past week. I was wondering: what part of the hands-on wildlife forensics lecture surprised you the most, and how do you think being a part of that class will impact the direction of your final video?

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