Dream Jobs: Forensic scientist

TOP: Forensic scientists from West Midlands Police department search for evidence such as footwear markings,

fingerprints, blood, DNA and other materials. Photo: Flickr. BOTTOM: Catherine Thacker. Photo: Photo: Christian Sinibaldi

for the Guardian

"So this is where I tend to do most of my work," says Catherine Thacker, speaking from

Queen Mary College's magnificent Blizard Building, a colorful, modern research center in

the East End of London. Thacker is a forensic scientist. It is her job to carefully examine

evidence that may prove someone's involvement in a crime. Her lab is a place where guilt

or innocence are established.

Thacker specializes in DNA identification, also known as DNA fingerprinting or DNA

profiling. DNA identification is a method for identifying whether a person is the source of

the genetic material — the DNA — found in a sample of blood, hair or other matter. It is

commonly used to link a suspect to a crime. It is also used to show a family relationship,

like whether someone is really a child's father, because close relatives share a good deal

of the same DNA.

Particularly in criminal cases, the amount of DNA Thacker has to work with can be

extremely small. Sometimes she has only "one strand of cotton with a piece of blood on it,"

Thacker explains.

Still, the field of DNA identification is progressing very quickly, Thacker says. Every year

forensic scientists like her are able to find out more using less.

By Leo Benedictus, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.12.16

Word Count 934

Genetic Fingerprints

"Our powers to detect DNA are becoming better and better, and with the levels of DNA that

we can detect, we're dropping the bar all the time. You just need one cell to produce a

profile," she says. A genetic profile, sometimes called a genetic fingerprint, is a set of

information about the genes in a sample. If it is complete enough, it can be matched to a

particular person, because everyone's genetic makeup is different.

Establishing a person's identity from a small, damaged or mixed-up sample of their DNA

isn't easy, though. Nailing down just who a particular sample came from is very demanding

work.

It is also very important to avoid connecting an innocent person to a crime, as their DNA

can also show up at a crime scene. For example, this can happen even if a person just

shakes hands with someone who commits a crime shortly afterward.

Samples Can Be Old And Smelly

Forensic science can be hard on the nose too. Thacker has gotten used to examining

some pretty nasty samples. "They're often quite old — and they're often quite smelly," she

says.

"It's the smell that affects me most," she says. "I've always had quite a strong stomach in

terms of blood and gore, but it's the smell that can really turn it."

A childhood interest in medicine led Thacker to choose forensics as a career. She chose

science subjects at school, and followed this with a degree in human biology and a

master's in forensic science.

Thacker enjoys the challenge and variety of forensics. "Every sample is different and every

case is different," she says.

Thacker also enjoys being involved with cases from near the beginning all the way through

to their conclusion in court.

It's Important To Get The Right Person

"I really like doing work for the defense," she says, "because I think it's really important to

make sure you've got the right person. If they're not the right person, they're actually a

victim as well."

Thacker says she can get very involved in the cases, maybe even too involved sometimes.

"You start to piece things together," she says, "and you think about what might have

happened. So I can get a bloodstained football shirt ... when someone got hit over the

head with a bottle during a violent incident following a football match ... And you want to

know, is it just the blood of the victim or is there blood of the assailant as well? Do the

witness statements tie up that it was a 50-50 type of fight, or was it just an unprovoked

attack? So you want to cut out a piece of the shirt, and test it to see whose blood it is. But

then you start to think: This is a Chelsea shirt, so the person that was wearing this was

supporting Chelsea. And you think: I wonder if he left his wife to go off to a football match

and then this happened?"

At other times, the burden of responsibility can be even greater. Thacker may find herself

dealing with scrapings from beneath the fingernails of a victim, hoping to find enough cells

to identify the attacker — or to clear an innocent man. Or she might be asked to examine a

blood sample from a man's dead son, in the hope of finding proof that the father still has a

grandchild to take care of.

Job Stats

Pay: £28,000–£30,000 ($36,500–$39,100) a year for a full-time position

Hours: "I work three days a week, on very flexible hours, but you have to be prepared to

work long hours if you have a case."

Work-life balance: Good. "There have been times when I've had to drop people in the

middle of dinner or I can't get home to read my little girl a bedtime story. But, I think any

difficulty I have with work-life balance comes down to me, because I get very involved in

my job."

Best thing: "Getting a result. Whether you managed to prove that the deceased man did

have a child, or that a DNA profile that you produced from working really hard meant that

someone has been found innocent."

Worst thing: "Not being able to get a result when you know how important it is to

someone. Or becoming so involved that I can't get home in time."

Quiz

1 Read the sentences below.

1. Some forensic scientists do most of their work in a research center in London.

2. A forensic scientist examines evidence that may prove someone's involvement in a

crime.

3. DNA profiling is an important part of the work of a forensic scientist.

4. Forensic scientists can sometimes get too involved in their work.

Which two sentences include the MOST central ideas of the article?

(A) 1 and 2

(B) 2 and 3

(C) 2 and 4

(D) 3 and 4

2 Read the two paragraphs below from the section "Samples Can Be Old and Smelly."

Forensic science can be hard on the nose too. Thacker has gotten

used to examining some pretty nasty samples. "They're often quite old

— and they're often quite smelly," she says.

"It's the smell that affects me most," she says. "I've always had quite a

strong stomach in terms of blood and gore, but it's the smell that can

really turn it."

How do these two paragraphs help develop a central idea of the article?

(A) by showing what DNA samples are like when they are damaged

(B) by illustrating the worst thing about being a forensic scientist

(C) by providing details of what it is like to examine DNA samples

(D) by describing how a forensic scientist dislikes strong smells

3 What purpose does the section "It's Important To Get The Right Person" serve in the article?

(A) It emphasizes that a forensic scientist must handle blood samples carefully.

(B) It suggests that forensic scientists do their best work when they work for the

defense.

(C) It describes the steps a forensic scientist takes to determine a family

relationship.

(D) It gives an inside look as to what a forensic scientist might be thinking as

she does her job.

4 Which sentence BEST describes the structure the author used to organize the text?

(A) The author details how a woman became a forensic scientist and then gives

some statistics about the job of forensic scientists.

(B) The author describes the problem of DNA profiling and then explains how a

forensic scientist solves that problem.

(C) The author explains what a forensic scientist does and then describes the

skills needed to become a forensic scientist.

(D) The author gives an overview of the job of a forensic scientist and then gives

details that illustrate different aspects of the job.