Bill Bass and the Body Farm

A crime scene investigator leans over a dead body at a local train yard. Slowly removing his stylish sunglasses, he crouches down to examine the body more closely. Exploring the pocket of the victim’s jacket, he finds several stray hairs and a ticket stub. “Let’s get these back to the lab for a DNA analysis,” he instructs. Standing and replacing the sleek shades over his eyes, he looks into the camera and says, with all seriousness: “Looks like this guy’s punched his last ticket.” Boom! Television gold.

If you’re a fan of primetime TV, this scene may seem all too familiar – probably similar to some episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Although they are often hyper-stylized for entertainment purposes, these shows are based on real-world science.

Bill Bass, a forensic anthropologist, is the head of Read more