Forensic Science Tour at the University of Toronto: Mississauga
Murray Clayton, M.Sc., is the program and outreach officer for the Forensic Science Program at the University of Toronto Mississauga. As a specialist in forensic anthropology, he has worked on missing person cases, human remain recovery and skeletal analysis across North America. He found his passion in human recovery after working on archaeological excavations of Roman cemeteries, but decided to contribute his skills to the community by assisting to solve contemporary cases closer to home.
We’re all familiar with the glamour of forensic science and crime scene investigation in the media, but how much of what we see is close to reality? There are many unique questions that need to be answered: What does a real investigation smell like? Can we really trust our key eyewitness? Actually, can we really trust ourselves? And what exactly do goats and horseradish have in common, and how do they affect our crime scene?
Hidden in the woods cof the campus at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, lies the Crime Scene Recreation House, where many of these answers were revealed during a demonstration of the tools and processes used by forensic identification officers.
In addition, visitors participated in two workshops: first, a forensic psychology activity, which invited guests to look at the major current flaws in the courtroom processes, and learn how our own brain may be working against us though unconscious bias, filtering out important key facts relating to a crime.
Second, a forensic biology workshop taughty visitors about presumptive testing for unknown substances at a crime, including blood and saliva, and the problems with each of these techniques. These experiences shed light on forensic practices, using real blood and saliva, in safe lab settings (including the recreation house).
Calling all Sleuths to a TREASURE HUNT at the Royal Ontario Museum
Kathleen Smith created a Treasure Hunt that was customized to suit different age ranges (under 12, 13-16, adult), teams or solo participants, requests for either a challenge or an “easy stroll’ version, and to accommodate people with limited mobility. There was a prize for the best result!
Can you solve these two puzzles without assistance from anyone, including ROM staff/volunteers?
Stand so that the camel is in front of you on your left, and the giraffe is in front of you on your right. Now look up. What do you read?
Three White Mice, sitting next to an apple on a cookie. What is the country of origin of the Mice? Where are they displayed?
Tour behind the scenes of the DNA lab at the Royal Ontario Museum
Oliver Haddrath has been a research technician in the Department of Natural History at the Royal Ontario Museum for 31 years. He is responsible for the operations of one of the ROM’s two genetic research laboratories which use DNA to examine the genetics of rare and endangered species, help to build the tree of life and unravel the mysteries of the past using ancient DNA.
He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1985 with a specialist degree in Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics. He completed his Masters of Science degree in 2001, which focussed on how the diversification and the distribution of the large flightless birds (ostrich, emu, cassowary, kiwis, rheas and extinct moa) was shaped by continental drift over the last 80 million years. He is currently completing his PhD which involves developing new molecular markers to look further back in time to the earliest evolutionary events surrounding the origin of birds.
The Royal Ontario Museum is one of the few research museums in Canada. Its collections of over 12 million objects are being continuously studied, with DNA sequencing being one of the major tools used to carry out this research. Whether working with blood samples of endangered species or bones that are thousands of years old, the ability to examine DNA has become an invaluable resource allowing the answering of questions once thought unknowable.
Among the many projects currently underway in the ROM’s DNA labs, the recovery of two blue whales who perished in the ice off Newfoundland in 2014 has taken a special focus. This tragic event has allowed a rare opportunity to be the first to examine the complete genome of this endangered animal. Blue whales are one of the extremes of nature being the largest animal that has ever lived. Examining its genome will provide insights into the evolutionary adaptation from land to sea, gigantism and its population history, all of which will improve our understanding and hopefully aid in recovery efforts.
How does information from DNA contribute to our historical understanding? What does the output from a DNA sequencing program look like? Oliver Haddrath showed participants around the DNA lab, conducted demonstrations, and answered many questions. He described his involvement with the genome aspect of the Blue Whale project.
Using Virtual Reality and Other Tools to Investigate the Human Sense of Balance in Space and on Earth
INQUIRING MINDS went to space, and came back and rotated upside down, and tried to find the pigeon in the Virtual Reality module.
Our speaker, Professor Laurence Harris, who is the Director of the renowned Centre for Vision Research at York University, gave us a talk about his recent and current experiments being done on the Discovery and other spacecraft, and showed slides of the astronauts such as Bob Thirsk and David Saint-Jacques involved in his research.
He explained how our visual system, our vestibular system (which has multiple functions), and our body interact to inform us how we know which way is ‘up’, how we know that our body is our own body, and how far away objects are from us in space.
During our lab tour, everyone had an opportunity to be buckled into a chair, which rotated 360 degrees forward while the room rotated 360 degrees backward (and other combinations).
Dr. Harris showed us a specially designed chair (the MOOG) that rotates while the occupant is wearing a virtual reality headset that shows exactly the same images as the real room. He gets the occupant to point to various objects in virtual reality and again without the VR, and notices differences in where they point.
Everyone had a chance to experience Virtual Reality in a task where we were required to locate a second pigeon in a square in a European city.
All this was followed by a long discussion.
Professor Laurence Harris is the Director of the Centre for Vision Research at York University. He also holds the York Research Chair in Multisensory Integration and is the founding editor of the journal Multisensory Research.
One of Dr. Harris’s research projects, dubbed “VECTION”, was underway at the time of our lab visit (March 2019) on the International Space Station, sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency.
This event was a combined talk and demonstration. Participants were shown several of the special tools and everyone was invited to try out the equipment.
A Day at the Zoo: Protecting the Health and Genetic Integrity of Animal Wildlife at the Toronto Zoo
Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco, Curator of Reproductive Programs and Research at the Toronto Zoo, is the only full-time reproductive physiologist in a Canadian zoo.
Dr. Mastromonaco holds a PhD in Reproductive Biotechnology from the University of Guelph and has spent the last 20 years in the field of reproductive sciences working on all aspects of assisted reproduction in both domestic and non-domestic species. Gabriela is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, as well as the Departments of Biology at Laurentian University and Trent University. She is a member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Reproductive Sciences Advisory Group (AZA-RSAG) and a board member of the International Society for Wildlife Endocrinology.
The importance of maintaining the evolutionary integrity of zoo populations, especially those that are used for conservation efforts including reintroduction to the wild, is critical for the conservation of biodiversity. This is only one of many issues that Dr. Mastromonaco is working on. Her focus is on understanding the species-specific differences in the reproductive biology of diverse species, and on developing tools to overcome challenges affecting reproductive success. In recent professional publications, she and her team presented research on species’ genetic adaption to captivity, on guest rides as environmental enrichment (rather than stress) for dromedary camels, on reproductive physiology in chinchillas, and on improving the diagnosis of reproductive disorder in chameleons.
This event included a lecture and private tour of the Zoo’s Wildlife Health Centre with Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco. The Centre provides treatment including surgery, ultrasound and dentistry as needed for the zoo population. After the lecture and facility tour, we were given a tour of the zoo itself, where we saw lions, cheetahs, hyenas, gorillas, baboons, antelope, polar bears, meerkat, tortoises, sea otters, giraffes, and more.