- Reaction score
- 1,698
Images that show how fingerprints can be used to reveal whether you are a smoker, an avid coffee drinker or even a drug addict have been revealed by UK scientists.
They were produced using a novel forensic technique that could in future be used on fingerprints collected at a crime scene. If the prints in question are not on file, this would still give police a powerful way to shrink their pool of suspects, by identifying their lifestyle habits.
The technique was developed by a team of forensics experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, and King's College in London, both in the UK.
It exploits the fact that the breakdown products - metabolites - of substances people consume are deposited in sweat found in pores in their fingerprint ridges. To detect these metabolites they use gold nanoparticles.
www.newscientist.com
They were produced using a novel forensic technique that could in future be used on fingerprints collected at a crime scene. If the prints in question are not on file, this would still give police a powerful way to shrink their pool of suspects, by identifying their lifestyle habits.
The technique was developed by a team of forensics experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, and King's College in London, both in the UK.
It exploits the fact that the breakdown products - metabolites - of substances people consume are deposited in sweat found in pores in their fingerprint ridges. To detect these metabolites they use gold nanoparticles.
New fingerprint analysis identifies smokers
A new forensic technique can use fingerprints to reveal whether they were left by a smoker, and may also spot avid coffee drinkers and even drug addicts
Last edited:
