The Outsider Inside

Ask questions to the Administrative Staff (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS).

The office of the Head of School, Professor Richard Pickersgill.

An electronic instrument that graphically displays varying signal voltages, such as action potentials, via a 2D plot of one or more signals as a function of time.

A device used to maintain low cryogenic temperatures of brain tissue mounted for sectioning and subsequent anatomical analysis.

A microscope using a beam of accelerated electrons as the source of illumination instead of light.

A fragment of DNA that can be radioactively or fluorescently labelled, to be used to detect the presence of nucleotide substances that are complementary to the probe.

A form of genetic testing that rapidly makes millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample, allowing it to be studied in detail.

There are lots of clues on Professor Stevens’ computer, on her desk and in lab notebook. You just need to access them.

Read through the lab notebook to read about her experiments and how they might related to The Filia Project.

Gain access to the Filia Project 1965 folder to put together the story. You’ll need a password that can be discovered by studying some of the items on Professor Stevens desk. You might need to talk to one of the other members of staff to gain further hints.

A machine used to determine the nucleic acid sequence of a piece of DNA that can be used to diagnose different diseases.

A piece of equipment used to detect and measure the physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles.

An apparatus that maintains an optimal environment (temperature, humidity, CO2, O2) to grow and maintain microbiological or cell cultures.

A biochemical test used to measure the presence or concentration of a molecule in a solution using an antibody or antigen.

Instrument using different methods to detect biological, chemical or physical events in microliter plates

An apparatus used to separate macromolecules based on their size by applying a negative charge to a gel, so that proteins move towards the positive charge.

A machine used to measure the reflective or transmission properties of a material that is the function of its wavelength.

Go through all of Vicki Stapleton’s blog and Twitter entries to find clues.

Reconstructing a time line of events from these entries might help you piece the story together.

Follow the different locations on the Map of London to find important clues. Each location has information that helps to uncover the whole story.

A machine that produces high temperatures and pressures relative to normal which is used to sterilise equipment, such as glass wear and surgical instruments.

Machine used to infuse various fluids, such as medicines or nutrients into an animal’s or human’s circulation via intravenous, subcutaneous, arterial or epidural routes, at steady and controlled rates and/or intervals.

This machine is used to test whether drugs, in the form of tablets or capsules, disintegrate within a specific time frame in a liquid, mimicking their  actions in the human body.

The piece of lab equipment is used to melt solid paraffin wax and dispense it for use in embedding tissues for observation under a microscope.

A container that holds heated water used to incubate samples at a constant temperature for long time periods.

This machine spins fluid-based samples using centrifugal force, in order to separate out its various components based on their different densities.

An important piece of equipment for the pharmaceutical industry, used to confirm that each batch of a drug is the same dosage.

An apparatus used to determine the concentration of certain metabolites, electrolytes, proteins or drugs in a sample of bodily fluid, such as blood.

To access Professor Stevens’ computer files, you need to crack a cipher. Use the internet to look up common ciphers.

Look at the different objects on Professor Stevens’ desk and see which of them relates to a common cipher you have discovered.

“Beware the Ides of March” is related to which number? This number should be applied to the common cipher you discovered.

There is a code word written on a slip of paper on Professor Stevens’ desk.

Apply the specific cipher and number to this word to reveal the password to access files on Professor Stevens’ computer.

You need to convert Roman numerals to regular Arabic numbers in order to be able to enter the correct password (an 8 digit number).

By sticking electrodes to a subject’s head, electrical signals from their brain in the form of waves, can be recorded. These brain waves represent different behavioural states or correlate with cognitive/emotional events.

A number of different techniques used to measure the activity of the peripheral or autonomic nervous system in response to different changing psychological states, such as stress.

Techniques that record the position of the eye in order to determine what someone is looking at. Can also be used to measure changes in the size of the pupils in response to specific events.

A form of questions designed to examine a person’s responses to certain situations enabling a psychologist to evaluate their mental or psychological state.

A variety of different tasks used to assess a subject’s cognitive abilities, such as their memory, planning ability, attention or use of social schema. Each task applies a control condition/s against which a subjects’ performance is compared.

Try to access the Department of Astrobiology. You’ll need a password.

Answer the questions of the Password Quiz and take the first letter of each correct answer.

You should have EIGHT LETTERS. Rearrange them into a biologically-related word. Enter the word when asked for the password and you will be able to enter the Department of Astrobiology.

Gemma Stevens’ mobile phone opened at a Whats App message.

Gemma Stevens’ UK Driving Licence.

A Post It note with a message written in red ink “Beware the Ides of March”.

A torn off piece of paper with a series of letters written on it. 15/3 is written in the bottom right hand corner of the note.

A photograph of William and Harry, the two laboratory rats used in Professor Stevens’ initial experiments.

Rebecca’s 7th Birthday, 14th February, is circled on the calendar, which makes her date of birth (14/02/2014).