*Professors Sidle and Grissom are probably two of the few who are actually looking forward to this trip.*
Good morning, everyone. Please be certain to sign the roster list. If you have any specific questions about a given corpse, don't hesitate to ask.
*They begin walking around the facility.* Nearly everything known about the science of human decomposition comes from one place -- forensic anthropologist
William Bass' Body Farm, funded by the University of Tennessee. This facility is rather similar in many respects.
*The bodies are stuffed into car trunks, left lying in the sun or shade, buried in shallow graves, covered with brush or submerged in ponds.*
Grissom, can you explain what the significance of some of these insects are? *To the class, noting some faces looking green* I did bring vomit bags--don't hesitate to grab one out of pride. Ruining this research might have you
added to the research.
*Various scientists take note of what insects come calling, and how long it takes them to do their work. Others test vital organs for protein degradation, amino-acid breakdown and levels of gas in the tissue. A project in partnership with the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory aims to create a calendar of decomposition by finding a substance that decays at a stable rate for comparison -- the half-life of death, so to speak.*