Surprising Science!
Life Sciences Series:
Inside a Crime Science Investigation!
Frontiers in Bioimaging
Inside a Crime Scene Investigation!
Prof Stella Tan shows how forensic light sources are utilised in criminal investigations to enhance visualisation of evidence, especially those that are difficult to detect with the naked eye. See how physiological fluids, such as urine and semen, fluoresce under different wavelengths of light, and how Raman Spectroscopy can identify an unknown substance based on its chemical fingerprint.
Prof Stella Tan
Department of Biological Sciences
Prof Tan has postgraduate academic qualifications in law, forensic science and science. She was previously Deputy Senior State Counsel, Attorney-General’s Chambers and Director (Prosecution and Legal Policy) at the Health Sciences Authority, where she provided legal advice and practical training to forensic experts. She has co-authored papers on stem cell research, therapeutic cloning and germline modification for the National Bioethics Advisory Committee. Her interest in nurturing students won her consecutive Dean’s Meritorious Teaching Awards. Prof Tan is also Assistant Dean (Student Life) at the Faculty of Science and Director of NUS’ Forensic Science Programme.
Frontiers in Bioimaging
Single protein molecules are the smallest unit working in our bodies. To find them and observe how they act and function is the aim of single molecule fluorescence detection. Bioimaging and single molecule detection helps us understand how our bodies work, one molecule at a time. However, finding a single molecule in a cell or organism is like looking for a needle in a haystack…only that the haystack is much, much larger than you can think of! To do this, Prof Thorsten Wohland uses lasers and state-of-the-art detection technology, as well as expertise in biological sample handling and computation, to tease out the information from the molecules that are imaged.
Prof Thorsten Wohland
Department of Biological Sciences
Prof Wohland studied Physics at the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Heidelberg. He conducted his diploma thesis at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, for theoretical and experimental work on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. He joined NUS following a two year postdoctoral stint at Stanford University where he worked on single molecule detection. His research aims at developing new bioimaging and fluorescence single molecule detection techniques, and using them to throw new light on how biological processes work. Prof Wohland is also a Professor in NUS’ Department of Chemistry.
