forensic bone testy thing - Writers Forum

riversource · 08-23-2007, 06:10 PM

There's a test that i've seen done on TV, in one of the many forensic/dead people/police shows on at the minute, in which they can use the bones to work out where a person grew up by telling what type of water they were drinking etc. I've done my googling but i seem to be being a little too vague to get any where. Has anyone else any idea what i'm talking about?

It's really just the name i'm after, it's not a huge deal in the story i'm writing but i'm determined to say that they did it and i want to get it right.
Cheers.

lin · 08-23-2007, 06:54 PM

I dunno...I googled forensic bone test mineral content and a whole of stuff came up that would fit your bill.

mammamaia · 08-23-2007, 07:00 PM

Contact Me

that's the contact form for the real 'bones' tv series character, dr. kathy reichs... she probably won't mind being asked such stuff...

riversource · 08-24-2007, 04:07 AM

OOoh thanks maia!

lin · 08-24-2007, 04:18 AM

or just put "forensic bone mineral test" in google and have about a dozen processes in the first page that returns.

I mean not that TV celebs aren't just sitting around DYING to do your research for you.

Mike C · 08-24-2007, 08:21 AM

forensic bone testy thing is actually the technical term for it, I believe.

HarryG · 08-24-2007, 10:01 AM

Could it be DNA testing you’re after? It can now establish where your ancestors came from, dating back to the year dot, and their journey in between.

Jeff Colburn · 08-24-2007, 01:44 PM

What you're probably looking for is the test for strontium isotopes. Archaeologists test the levels of strontium in a person's tooth enamel, which forms in a child's first few years, then test the level in the person's bones, which changes every 7-10 years. This tells them where the person grew up as compared to where they lived the last few years of their life. Archaeologists use this to track people's migration patterns. Since strontium varies across the planet, it could be used by criminologists to help find where a person has been the past few years and where they spent their childhood.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Mallignamius · 08-24-2007, 02:48 PM

Forensic Anthropologists use isotope analysis to determine diets of deceased subjects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Isotope analysis

Archaeology/Anthropology

Bone recovered from archaeological sites can be analysed isotopically for information regarding diet and migration. Tooth enamel and soil surrounding or clinging to the remains may also be used in isotopic analysis. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition are used to reconstruct diet, and oxygen isotopes are used to determine geographic origin. Strontium isotopes in teeth and bone can be used to determine migration and human movement.

The isotopes are imbued into the fauna during its lifetime through eating, drinking and particles inhaled. This process ends with the organism's death, from this point on isotopes no longer accumulate in the body, but do undergo degradation. For best result the researcher would need to know the original leaves, or an estimation there of, of isotopes in the organism at the time of its death.

To obtain an accurate picture of palaeodiets, it is important to understand processes of diagenesis that may affect the original isotopic signal. It is also important for the researcher to know the variations of isotopes with in individuals, between individuals, and over time.

Isotope analysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert H. Tykot's is a professor at the University of South Florida. Here's his bone chemistry page, which goes into detail about some of the work they do. Although it doesn't specifically explain analysis of bone content for water contaminants, it's a good overview of the science:
Bone Chemistry

And here's a huge list of common water problems to give you and idea of how complex water analysis can be:
Water problems, Water pollutants

I don't know how a forensics team would go about obtaining a demographic report on water makeup to compare their results, but if the water companies are keeping logs/charts with their own analyses, it shouldn't be difficult.

EDIT: Ah, I now see Jeff's reply. I had spent about an hour researching this myself, so...

riversource · 08-24-2007, 04:09 PM

Thank you! Those last two posts were EXACTLY what i needed!

mammamaia · 08-24-2007, 06:47 PM

i'd hardly call that lady a 'tv celeb' since she's a serious scientist with a well-respected career in the field... and if she wasn't willing to be contacted, she wouldn't make it so easy to do... it's a shame some people can't be just helpful and waste much time and energy being so arrogantly/contumeliously [nifty word, huh?

] sarcastic instead...