Ask a Forensic Scientist anything

989 Questions

Last Answer on July 21, 2022

What does it mean if a cadaver had "abundant amount of mud on the hands," if the body was in the water for two weeks and it was swift water for days?

Asked by Lina N Lete almost 7 years ago

‘Abundant’ probably just means the hands were smeared with mud on some parts, not that they had clumps of mud in them. Why it would be on the hands after being in water—some possible reasons might be that the body got hung up in muddy shallows and that’s why it was found, or it was dragged over muddy areas when pulled from the water. As I don’t have any picture of where it was or how it was recovered, that’s my best guess.

555 Votes

Are you able to tell if a person was unconscious just before death after examining the body? For example if someone hit their head and knocked themselves unconscious before they actually died?

Asked by TS over 6 years ago

I don't believe so (in fact I believe I address this question during an autopsy scene in my book Perish) but you'd have to ask a pathologist. Sorry I can't help.

554 Votes

So you wanna be a Forensic Scientist?

Check our Jobstr's career page for salary information, educational requirements, suggested reading and more!

What does forensic science mean to you?

Asked by Caroline about 6 years ago

For homework interview questions, please email me at lisa-black@live.com.

554 Votes

Do you worry about the corona virus?

Asked by Jamie over 5 years ago

So far it hasn’t come up in my work, and we have lots of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

554 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Flight Attendant

What's the scariest flight you've ever been on?

Freelance Writer

How do you go about getting your first clients?

Private Detective

What's the best Sherlock-Holmes-worthy detective work you've ever done?

What is the regular intern day/night shift?

Asked by Crime Scene Investigator over 6 years ago

We don't have a set schedule for interns. They'll come in on weekdays, but other than that we work with their school/work schedule.

553 Votes

what is the importance of physical fingerprinting in a scientific sphere of DNA profiling?

Asked by Nic over 6 years ago

I”m sorry but I don’t understand the question. What is physical fingerprinting and what is a scientific sphere?

553 Votes

Do you help with Forensic Homework?

Asked by Al almost 7 years ago

I think that's what I'm doing most of the time when I answer questions on this site. If you look over the previous Q&As you'll probably see a lot of homework questions.

553 Votes