Current Event article 10/13/10
Research Will Help ID Bodies Left Behind by Chilean Earthquake, Pinochet Regime
ScienceDaily.com (Sep. 14, 2010) — New research from North Carolina State University will help medical examiners and others identify human remains of those killed during the recent earthquake in Chile, as well as the bodies of the "disappeared" who were killed during the Pinochet administration. "We have developed population-specific identification criteria for the Chilean population, which will help us determine the stature and biological sex of skeletal remains," says Dr. Ann Ross, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research.
"My vision for this work is to help identify the remains of victims of political violence that occurred under the Pinochet regime," says Ross, whose mother is Chilean. "This will also help in contemporary body identification efforts in Chile. For example, in the event of a mass fatality -- such as the February earthquake in Chile -- this will help authorities identify recovered remains." For the past decade, forensic researchers -- such as Ross -- have been developing population-specific identification criteria that account for variations in height, build and other characteristics that can be critical when attempting to identify human remains. "This is important," Ross explains, "because populations vary. Identifying characteristics such as height and sex can be significantly different from population to population."
For this study, the researchers evaluated remains from a 20th century Chilean cemetery in order to accurately characterize Chilean skeletal features. They were then able to develop stature criteria that can help researchers arrive at an accurate height for an individual based on an analysis of his or her long bones, including the femur and tibia.
The researchers were able to develop criteria to determine a body's biological sex based on measurements of the articulation of the upper arm bone (the humerus) and the femur.
The paper, "New identification criteria for the Chilean population: Estimation of sex and stature," was co-authored by Maria Jose Manneschi of the Universidad de Chile. The paper will be published in a forthcoming issue of Forensic Science International. The research was made possible by support from NC State.
NC State's Department of Sociology and Anthropology is a joint department under the university's College of Humanities and Social Sciences and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Source: Earthquake, Pinochet Regime." ScienceDaily 14 September 2010. 15 October 2010
Summary:
On September 14, 2010, new research from North Carolina State University grabbed the attention of medical examiners and other forensic scientists involved in the reconstruction of Chile, where a massive earthquake had occurred. According to Dr. Ann Ross, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at NC State, not everyone was killed in the earthquake. In fact, some residents of Chile had disappeared from the scene. Closer looks at the remains of dead Chilean bodies reveal the unique and distinctive traits in their bones. These traits are not present in the skeletons of Caucasoids (Whites), Mongoloids (Asians), or Negroids (Blacks). To put it mildly, Chileans fall into the category of Hispanics (because Spanish is the most common language in Chile); they have different skeletons than the other ethnic groups.
I thought this article was attention-grabbing, especially because I was learning about the same things that the investigators were studying in Chile. Although I don’t know the scientific term for Hispanic skeletons, which I assume is “Hispanoids” (please correct me if I’m wrong), I still find this article to be relevant and worthy of my research. And if I said anything racist about Hispanic skeletons, I apologize.
The reason I chose this article is because I am interested in news outside the United States. I love to learn about foreign cultures. I particularly find Asian cultures (Japanese and Chinese) interesting, as well as Spanish cultures because I am almost fluent in Spanish. In addition, I enjoy learning about forensics. Therefore, this article caught my attention.
Despite the pros of this article, I also noticed some cons. This article is written in English, which, to us, seems like a no-brainer. But what about the Chileans, who might not speak English? Suppose a Chilean man (or woman) wants to read this article, but he/she can’t understand it. I think this article should have a “Translate” button that links you to the Spanish version of the article when you click on it. My other criticism is that the Pinochet regime wasn’t discussed enough in this article. Therefore, I think that part is extraneous (unnecessary). In closing, I hope you liked my article. Be sure to leave comments! (Just don’t write anything inappropriate.) Thank you!
1 comment:
This current event summary is well put together; it is straightforward, east to follow, and good at explaining how the research will help identify hispanic skeletons after the earthquake.
However, there are a few things that can be altered to make this current event better. First of all, rhere are some run ons and uneccessary segments in the summary, so these should be taken out. Another thing is the organization. The reviewer's opinion/critique of the article is all over the place, when it is supoosed to be put into one paragraph of the summary.
What i thought was interesting about the article summary is for this study, the researchers evaluated remains from a 20th century Chilean cemetery in order to accurately characterize Chilean skeletal features.
Post a Comment