What's In John's Freezer?

I spent this summer, the second of my undergraduate degree, in the Royal Veterinary College’s Structure and Motion Laboratory, as I undertook a BBSRC-funded Summer Research Experience Placement. The purpose of the REP is to give undergrad students a taste of what research would be like as a career. In my case, I was given the fantastic opportunity to study giraffe locomotion. Mentored by Christopher Basu, a PhD student in the SML, and Professor John Hutchinson, my ten-week project began at the start of July.

First things first, I had some ground work to do. All the data had been collected prior to my placement, though I will be joining Chris next week to collect fresh data for his future work. Giraffes were recorded using high speed video cameras walking parallel to the edge of their enclosure, over concealed force-plates measuring ground reaction forces. I was provided with 3 days’…