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Forensic Science in Fact and Fiction - A Musical Memory Tour

Quentin Cooper reports from the British Association Science Festival in Liverpool. Including features on forensic science in fact and fiction and the links between music and memory.

Forensic Science in Fact and Fiction

Bookshops and TV schedules are full of it.
From CSI to Silent Witness, forensic science has become a hugely popular part of crime fiction. Advances are also revolutionising real-life detection. Quentin is joined by forensic science expert Lorna Dawson from the Macaulay Institute and crime fiction writer Margaret Murphy to discuss the latest advances and how accurately they are portrayed in fiction. In particular, they hear how soil samples from shoes can reveal regional geology, local vegetation and micro-organisms and even characteristics of an individual garden.

A Musical Memory Tour
Quentin goes on a musical memory tour to the famous Cavern Club, successor to the Beatles' first venue, to find the links between memory and music.

For many of us, songs by the Beatles trigger vivid and specific memories. What's going on in our brains when this happens and what makes a tune 'catchy'? Can music help us to hang on to their cherished memories? University of Leeds psychologist Martin Conway and UCL Neuroscientist Hugo Spiers join Quentin at the Cavern Club along with musician Mehmet Husseyin.

Available now

30 minutes

Broadcast

  • Thu 11 Sep 2008 16:30

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