

Human: Teaching a child the differences between a forensic biologist and a regular biologist

Assistant: I think we can say that the forensic biologist is someone who specializes in doing science on dead bodies, to try to determine how the person died, maybe to see if the death was due to murder or manslaughter.  Meanwhile the regular biologist is just a scientist that does research on all living things, whether they are humans, animals, or plants.  So basically there’s nothing wrong with learning about the work of forensic biologists, but it can be confusing if you take it to mean that all biologists are studying dead people!


Human: Teaching a child the differences between a forensic biologist and a regular biologist

Assistant: Well, a forensic biologist is concerned primarily with the process of crime scene analysis, where the particular focus is on figuring out who’s guilty.  You can think of a forensic biologist as a detective, but one who uses the tools of biology.  Most forensic biologists use a lot of physical evidence, such as fingerprints, bloodstains, and so on.  A regular biologist, on the other hand, works more with the living world.  For instance, a regular biologist might be doing research to figure out which plants will grow best in different environments, or to help prevent disease.  Some biologists do both forensic and regular work.  In fact, a forensic biologist who has a lot of experience in studying the living world will often have a better intuitive grasp of the evidence than a new forensic biologist.
Teaching a child the differences between a forensic biologist and a regular biologist
I think we can say that the forensic biologist is someone who specializes in doing science on dead bodies, to try to determine how the person died, maybe to see if the death was due to murder or manslaughter.  Meanwhile the regular biologist is just a scientist that does research on all living things, whether they are humans, animals, or plants.  So basically there’s nothing wrong with learning about the work of forensic biologists, but it can be confusing if you take it to mean that all biologists are studying dead people!
Well, a forensic biologist is concerned primarily with the process of crime scene analysis, where the particular focus is on figuring out who’s guilty.  You can think of a forensic biologist as a detective, but one who uses the tools of biology.  Most forensic biologists use a lot of physical evidence, such as fingerprints, bloodstains, and so on.  A regular biologist, on the other hand, works more with the living world.  For instance, a regular biologist might be doing research to figure out which plants will grow best in different environments, or to help prevent disease.  Some biologists do both forensic and regular work.  In fact, a forensic biologist who has a lot of experience in studying the living world will often have a better intuitive grasp of the evidence than a new forensic biologist.