A Chemical Cocktail: Electric Bacteria and Forensic Investigation

The development of sustainable technology to produce chemicals whilst maintaining net-zero climate goals is currently at the forefront of scientific research. One promising method of producing chemicals sustainably is semi-artificial photosynthesis. In which, anaerobic ‘electric’ bacteria are paired with artificial light absorbers (semiconductors. This talk will focus on overcoming the current bottlenecks in the field by using state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques to elucidate the kinetics of charge transfer between bacteria and the semiconductor.

BANG! A bullet erupts from the barrel of the gun leaving in its wake a devastating and destructive path, accompanied by a chemical cocktail of residue, aptly named gunshot residue or GSR. The forensic investigation of these incidents is essential to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. By carefully studying the chemical composition of the organic components of GSR we can reconstruct the chemical puzzle to help link it with the ammunition it came from. With the potential for the specific shooter to be identified and linked to the scene or even linking multiple shootings together!