REVIEW- Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime

It was in the early twentieth century that the Parisian criminologist Edmond Locard established  the principle that ‘every contact leaves a trace’. It has formed the bedrock of forensic science ever since. In this respect at least, forensics has a relatively short history. It was Locard, after all, who established the world’s first police laboratory as recently … Continue reading →

REVIEW- Doctors, Dissection & Resurrection Men

In 1832 the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Anatomy Act, legalising the practice of doctors, anatomists and medical students dissecting any body that went unclaimed upon death. With this new law the medical community would no longer need to satisfy its ever-increasing demand for corpses by paying professional body snatchers – or ‘resurrection … Continue reading →

REVIEW- Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist

Like all histories, the history of science has its fair share of ‘nearly-men’. They find themselves scattered amongst the heroes like Galileo, Newton, Darwin and Einstein. There’s Tycho Brahe, for example, the finest naked-eye astronomer of all time, who observed the motions of the planets with greater accuracy than anyone before him, but failed to … Continue reading →