Things will never be the same as they used to be. Can we take a minute to feel nostalgic? Gone are the days when your life would be filled with suspense over who committed the murder of a wife in a small town on the other side of the country. Where once a crime scene investigation was based solely on fingerprints, eyewitness accounts, and simple evidence collection, now it is driven by genetic markers and digital breadcrumbs.
Between tied DNA and placed location data, alibis have become very hard to fake or maintain in the face of forensic interrogation powered by these dual technologies. My heart goes to all the future homicide perpetrators because life has certainly not made it easy for them to commit the perfect crime like the good old days.
While we are on the topic of fingerprinting, a thought that has kept bothering me recently was "Why do we leave fingerprints on the things we touch?"
Ufff, Karan stop it already. Stop it. I know the game you are playing and I am not interested.
No seriously, why do we leave fingerprints at crime scenes.
So we get caught after committing a crime. I don't know what kind of a trick question is this.
Never mind. I decided to examine my own fingers to understand what all the fuss was about. When I touched a clear surface, such as glass, it appeared as though I left behind an oily residue where my fingertips made contact.
It turns out the ridges on our fingertips have pores which are connected to sweat glands. When someone has just killed their partner, they tend to feel extremely anxious with an elevated heart rate and sweating. As this nervous perpetrator touches surfaces, the sweat from their finger pores fills the unique ridges of their fingertips and leaves behind a print.
Below is the arrangement of sweat pores on my finger. And just because I am sweating does not mean I am trying to hide something.
A death may end one being, but it starts a journey for countless others. Yes, we are going to talk about Maggots. So, this is my warning to turn away if you are one of the squeamish types. For the adventurous, a new world awaits.
Parents always strive to provide the best start for their offspring. Whenever you see a dead critter on the side of the road, take a moment to poke around.
Here lies a squirrel, napping mid-day. These lazy squirrels only complain about expensive acorns and "those squirrels" from last generation.
Here is a striped skunk that was day dreaming on the side of a busy road in San Jose.
Karan...what is with this morbid curiosity. I don't know what point you are trying to make by showing your readers dead critters.
I apologize. I got slightly distracted here. Going back to the skunk, one thing mother flies try to do is lay their eggs in parts of dead bodies that will protect their tender, delicate babies from the harsh sun. Why? Have you ever seen any maggots walking around with a sunscreen.
In this case, when I looked at the mouth I could see it teeming with activity.
Maggots have tiny barbs on their bodies which prevent them from being dislodged when they are feeding. Think of it as a high chair for these maggots, after all they are still kids.
Another thing that helps them anchor securely to the food source are hook-like structures found in the mouthparts. Next time you get grossed out by maggots, imagine them as tiny Walruses. They don't look that bad, do they now, eh?
Maggots have simple eyes that can only detect light and dark. But that’s all they need to keep their soft skin safe from harsh sunlight and hidden from predators.
Maggots breathe passively through tiny openings on their bodies called spiracles. These connect to tracheal respiratory systems. Maggots control the openings, closing them when needed. When fully submerged in food, they breathe through spiracles near their tail ends.
To see rear-end spiracles, let’s examine a rodent botfly larva that has parasitized a rat and will soon pupate. Note the two external openings on its rear. These spiracles are essential—the larva’s only air source since its body burrows inside the host.
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