Something's Rotten!

Something Rotten, A Fresh Look at Roadkill
by Heather L. Montgomery; illus. by Kevin O'Malley
176 pages; ages 9-11
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2018

This week and next I'm highlighting the scary and gross in science. After all - it's Halloween season! A perfect time to read about what scientists are learning from roadkill.

Author, Heather Montgomery warns that her book is not for squeamish souls; this book is full of parasites, intestines, and bloody bodies. It's not for reckless readers either, because it's filled with things you shouldn't do unless (and until) you are an "authorized, bona fide, certified expert." And it's definitely not for the tenderhearted because it's full of death and tragedy.

But it is one of the most entertaining - and informative - books about roadkill that I've read.

Every book has a starting point. For Heather it was a squashed snake. With tire tracks. A rattlesnake. She started asking questions that led her to David Laurencio, the archivist of the DOR (Dead on Road) collection at the Auburn University Museum of Natural History. Every specimen bears a toe tag with an identification number that references a file. A file filled with notes about where the animal was found, when, how it was killed, its gender, and DNA information.

Turns out, scientists can learn a lot from dead animals. By mapping where animals are killed, they get a better idea of where the animals live. Are they migrating as climate change affects their traditional range? Analysis of stomach contents reveals what the animals are eating. This is important information for conservation scientists.

Throughout her book, Heather introduces us to many scientists - a snake scientist, a scientist studying genetics of coyotes and wolves, a roadkill ecologist - as well as people who salvage roadkill for the meat. Some folks use roadkill to feed animals, others grind it up for burger and slap it on the grill.

What I like most about this book: that there are things we can do to decrease death-by-car. As Heather notes: if we can wage huge campaigns to save sea animals from plastic straws, we can take positive action to reduce animal deaths on our highways. One thing everyone can do - starting now - stop throwing food out your window. It's like baiting the road.

Things I love about this book: Footnotes! At the bottom of most pages are extra notes that, in other books, would have been text boxes and sidebars. This is fun. Back Matter! There are lists of books, videos, other resources. There are directions for how to do your own bugsplat windshield bug count. There is a list of citizen science projects, like this one.

Today we're joining other book bloggers over at STEM Friday, where you can discover other cool STEM books. Review ARC from the publisher.

Women who Investigate Crime Scenes

Angie Malone is the winner of a copy of Bubonic Panic - the giveaway winner was determined by drawing names from a hat (since rafflecopter refuses to load properly!) Now, back to Fun with Forensics...


Forensics: Cool Women who Investigate
by Anita Yasuda; illus. by Allison Bruce
112 pages; ages 9-12
Nomad Press, 2016

After an introductory chapter, the book introduces three women who work in forensics. Each has a chapter dedicated to her story of how she grew up, what kinds of things she was interested in as a kid, and the sort of forensic work they do now. ChristineGabig-Prebyl is a forensic scientist for a sheriff's office. When she was a kid, she collected owl pellets and was interested in life sciences.

What Christine likes best about her job is that it brings new problems to solve each day. She may use gas chromatography or analyze substances in a mass spectrometer. She might examine hair, fibers, paint using a microscope. In one case, she had to deal with more than 450 items of evidence.

Some forensic scientists are anthropologists who study bones, or entomologists who study insects. Throughout the book are many sidebars that focus on different jobs in forensic sciences, and the education that you'd need for that job. There are also short profiles of other women in the field. This is the perfect book for a young woman headed to college with an interest in sciences, but not quite sure what she wants to do.

Try It: Chromatography

 The ink in your pen might look black, but most ink is a mix of several pigments. A forensic scientist can determine what ink is used by separating the pigments into a banded pattern. The process of separating pigments is called chromatography, and you can do it on your kitchen counter.

You need: different kinds of water-based black markers; coffee filters cut into half-inch strips; bamboo skewers or pencils; tape; and some jars or glasses.

Draw a pencil line about 1/2 inch from one end of a filter paper strip. Make a dot of dark ink from one of the markers on that line. Pour a little water into the jar and hang your filter paper so it is just touching the water and the ink spot is above the water line. Tape it to a pencil so it can hang for a few minutes while the pigments separate. As water is drawn up the filter paper, it will carry the ink's pigments with it. Heavier pigments will be left behind first, and light ones later - so you may see some pinks and blues along the strip. Try it with different markers - you might find they have different pigments.

What about inks that aren't water-soluble? If you can smear it with a drop of alcohol, you might be able to separate the pigments using alcohol instead of water in the jar.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Crime Scene Investigations

Nomad Press has a couple of fun books out about Forensics. So this week and next I'll be pairing a book review with some hands-on crime scene science that you can do at home.

Forensics: Uncover the science and technology of crime scene investigation
by Carla Mooney; illus. by Samuel Carbaugh
128 pages; ages 12 - 15
Nomad Press, 2013

This is a wonderful book, and I can't believe I let it fall to the bottom of my book review basket. Especially since I enjoy watching Bones and NCIS !

Forensics is the science of finding evidence and analyzing it for clues. Evidence can be anything: blood spatters, carpet fibers, insects, pollen, powders, fingerprints and footprints. Each piece of evidence reveals something about what happened at the scene of the crime.

This book introduces the science of crime scene investigation. There's a chapter on fingerprints: how to find, recover, and identify the patterns. There's a chapter about blood evidence, and one about bones and bodies. There's chapters about impressions (treadmarks), trace evidence, and fakes. Throughout the book are sidebars highlighting forensic careers and plenty of hands-on activities for kids to try. It's a great way to introduce kids to the science they see on the screen.

Try It: Fingerprints

Take a look at your fingers using a magnifying lens. See the whorls and arches? They make your print pattern. Any time you touch something, you leave a fingerprint. That's because your skin has oils in it. Crime scene investigators use powder to coat prints with dust and then lift them or photograph them for identification.

You can do it too. All you need are: a clean drinking glass, cocoa powder, a small, soft brush (camel-hair paintbrush) , transparent tape, and white paper. Now rub your fingers against your nose to make sure they have oils on them - that will make it easier for you to leave prints. Pick up the glass and put it down.  You should have left some prints.

Use the cocoa powder to lightly dust the prints, and brush gently with the brush. The prints should become visible. Place the sticky side of the tape on a print and lift it off the glass. Then tape it to the white paper. Now you've got a print for "the lab".

Now take fingerprints of you and your friends, using washable ink or graphite. Try to pair up the print from the glass with one of the known prints.

Review copy of the book provided by publisher.