Say what? A fingerprint
test that can tell if you’ve used a condom, cosmetics or drunk a cup of coffee?
Sound a
bit CSI?
Well, that’s
exactly what a new test developed by researchers from Sheffield Hallam University in West Yorkshire, does.
It’s called Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry
Imaging and Profiling. Bit of a mouthful, lucky there are also acronyms: MALDI-MSI
and MALDI-MSP.
What
does your fingerprint say about you?
The test is
capable of detecting not just condom lubricants but also other forensics
such as food, drugs, blood (human or animal), alcohol, hair and cleaning
products.
A crime is a story, pieced together by separate
pieces of evidence. MALDI-MSI/MALDI-MSP can provide detailed information about a person of interest
and their life. For example, it can tell if you're a drug user or drug
handler—two very different scenarios.
How Does it Work?
- Basically,
MALDI-MSI/MALDI-MSP finds traces of substances on or within the
ridges of fingerprints. - A sample is vaporized and then fired
through an electric and magnetic field inside a vacuum. - The end result is different molecules within
the sample can be identified.
Fingerprinting is one of the oldest
forms of ID with the first recorded crime being solved by this method back in 1892.
Francisca Rojas, a woman in
Argentina, murdered her two sons and slashed her own throat in an attempt to cover
up. Police
matched her to a bloody fingerprint
left on a door post, proving she was the murderer.
So what’s this mean for cold-cases? Well, the
technology has already been used to detect blood in a 30-year-old print. “I
would want to see this technology in high-profile cases such as murder or rape,”
says project lead Dr. Simona Francese. “It's very sophisticated, it's expensive
but it's worthwhile.”
“I
think it's fairly close to bottoming out all the questions that could be raised
in court,” said Stephen Bleay, UK Government senior technical specialist. “It's
possible this is only months away from being used on casework.”
The
test is so sensitive and accurate it can not only tell if you’ve touched condoms,
it can even tell the brand.
CSI
is more real than you thought.
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