Tinier and tinier quantities of DNA can now be detected – giving forensic scientists a problem: a crime scene may have traces of people who have never been there. To what extent can DNA be transferred from place to place, and how can different traces be sifted out? Dr Alexander Gray from the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science in Dundee describes the challenges.
In hard times past Hudson’s Bay furs and Greenland whaling helped Orkney’s economy and people to survive. Today’s changing climate and an unsettled global situation is bringing northern regions together. Could this open a new frontier for Orkney?
Dr Jamie Gallagher takes you on a guided tour of the building blocks that make up the planets, the universe – and us. "The periodic table has been an emblem of science for over 100 years. Behind this iconic classroom poster live tales of romance, murder, greed and wonder."
One of the novels of Eric Linklater, who died 50 years ago, spans Shetland, Faroe and Orkney past and present in a fateful mood showing how chains of events can build up to tragic conclusions. But the ending has a fresh picture of the nature of Time and a feeling of hope and redemption. And that picture of Time, says Dr Howie Firth, actually appears at the frontiers of physics today.
The Caithness author Neil Gunn dedicated his novel Highland River to his brother John, a mathematics and physics graduate. The book weaves together John’s pursuit of ideas in physics with a fisherman’s scanning of the sea to the far horizon – and also to the journey from the harbour upriver, in search of its distant source. Prof. Donna Heddle of UHI looks at the book and its setting.
Sea buckthorn thrives in poor sandy soil by the sea, and can stabilise dunes and build up shelter – and it's nutritionally rich. Vitamins and amino acids, minerals and essential fatty acids, are abundant in its berries; their juice is a healthy drink and an intriguing flavour ingredient. Kirstie Campbell of Seabuckthorn Scotland tells its story and explores its possibilities for areas like Orkney.
Perhaps no other body part reveals as much about an animal’s relationship to its environment, says evolutionary biologist Otto Stenberg of the University of Helsinki, Finland. “Teeth have evolved to chop, pierce, crush and comb. They serve as sabres, scissors, mortar and pestle. The sheer diversity of tooth form and function is one of the most remarkable things about us mammals.”
