Sherlock Holmes: scientific detective

Snyder, Laura J.

doi:10.1016/j.endeavour.2004.07.007

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Science and technology have long been used to aid investigations (if a brief digression into crime fiction is allowed, Sherlock Holmes based his deduction process on the careful examination of clues thus providing inspiration to forensic science [ 1 , 2 ]). Molecular biology is a powerful tool to help collect evidence and guide decisions in legal trials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of genetic markers to estimate relationships between dogs in the course of criminal investigations

et al. 2017

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ObjectiveAttacks on humans by dogs in a pack, though uncommon, do happen, and result in severe, sometimes fatal, injuries. We describe the role that canine genetic markers played during the investigation of a fatal dog-pack attack involving a 50-year-old male truck driver in a parking lot in Tuscany (Italy). Using canine specific STR genetic markers, the local authorities, in the course of their investigations, reconstructed the genetic relationships between the dogs that caused the deadly aggression and other dogs belonging to the owner of the parking who, at the moment of the aggression, was located in another region of Italy.Results From a Bayesian clustering algorithm, the most likely number of clusters was two. The average relatedness among the dogs responsible for the aggression was higher than the average relatedness among the other dogs or between the two groups. Taken together, all these results indicate that the two groups of dogs are clearly distinct. Genetic relationships showed that the two groups of dogs were not related. It was therefore unlikely that the murderous dogs belonged to the owner of the parking lot who, on grounds of this and additional evidence, was eventually acquitted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2722-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of genetic markers to estimate relationships between dogs in the course of criminal investigations

et al. 2017

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“…"(36) Coming at Holmes from the perspective of chemistry in movies, Griep and Mikasen note that he is an archetype of a particular onscreen scientist--the forensic detective. (37) Indeed Conan Doyle has done more than any other writer to present the social value of forensic science (38).…”

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The Chemist as Anti-Hero: Walter White and Sherlock Holmes as Case Studies

Fahy

2013

ACS Symposium Series

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Compared to chemists in film, chemists in modern television drama are underexamined by scholars, even though the genre is a powerful processor of images and ideas about culture and society. This critical essay draws on ideas from science communication, media studies and literary studies to examine the representation of chemists and chemistry in the acclaimed television dramas "Breaking Bad" and "Sherlock." A textual analysis of these shows, chosen as critical case studies, demonstrates that they both portray their chemist protagonists as anti-heroes, who are morally ambivalent characters. The essay argues that both shows portray chemistry as uncommon knowledge, which is conducted largely in isolation or in secret. Although the shows represent chemistry as an empirical and experimental science, they demonstrate that the craft of chemistry is not ethically neutral. In "Breaking Bad," Walter White chooses to stop using his chemistry skills to teach, and subsequently slides into an immoral world of death, destruction and destabilization. In "Sherlock," Sherlock Holmes is an amoral, but benign, figure who uses his forensic knowledge to save lives and confront crime. These representations demonstrate that ethical choices are entwined with the practice of chemistry and these choices, in turn, have social consequences. Chemistry and Contemporary Television DramaThe comprehensive study of chemistry on celluloid, Reaction! (2009), identified Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) as the film that established the prototype for subsequent characterizations of chemists in movies. The chemist is at once good and evil, capable of care and harm, a dualistic portrayal that remains central to how chemistry is presented, and perceived, in Western culture. (1) This ambivalence is enhanced by the recurrent representation in film of chemists, and other scientists, as ambiguous figures. Even when they are benevolent figures, they are idealistic figures, who become gradually corrupted. They are ambitious, but overlook the social consequences of their science. They are driven to gain new knowledge, but become willing to violate ethical principles." (2) Their uncertain social stature is reflected in their presentation in as unusual in dress and behavior --and their scientific wisdom is portrayed as "uncommon knowledge." (3) Yet compared to their counterparts in movies, chemists in television drama have not received a similar amount of scholarly scrutiny. This is a significant shortfall because, as the scholar of television drama Helena Sheehan argues, the genre is a powerful "processor of the collective images and ideas through which we as a society represent ourselves to ourselves and to others." (4) The genre reflects and refracts the values and experiences that exist in a particular culture at a specific time. This presentation of the world in dramatic television stories, Sheehan argues, is neither simple nor straightforward, but it does convey particular premises about how the world is organized, about how society is structured and about how...

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“…Version one begins with the surgery and features a flashback observation that prior to surgery the patient would not talk about his family. In the first way the story is told the significance of Mr. Kaufman’s avoidance initially goes unnoticed; it is only recognised as significant retrospectively, emphasised by “he wouldn’t talk about his family,” which gains the status of a clue in an unfolding mystery and which causes some perplexity to health care staff (and here we might note that many clinical and bioethical cases are constructed on the template of a fathomable puzzle using techniques that highlight something odd at the start of a tale and, by a process of informational drip-feed, come to generate suspense not unlike that which takes place in detective fiction [Snyder 2004]).…”

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confidence: 99%

Textual Practices in Crafting Bioethics Cases

Hurwitz

2012

Bioethical Inquiry

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Bioethics case reports generally treat aspects of moral fathomability, characterised and addressed in different ways. This paper reads the case as a textual model of scenarios and draws attention to its structure, narrative shape, linguistic register, and the effects of tone and temporality on reader expectation and responsiveness. Such textual elements of case composition reflect authorial purpose and influence the interpretation, including moral and ethical interpretation, of bioethics cases.

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Sherlock Holmes: scientific detective

Cited by 12 publications

References 2 publications

The use of genetic markers to estimate relationships between dogs in the course of criminal investigations

The use of genetic markers to estimate relationships between dogs in the course of criminal investigations

The Chemist as Anti-Hero: Walter White and Sherlock Holmes as Case Studies

Textual Practices in Crafting Bioethics Cases

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