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Article: Fingering the criminals: Japanese develop method for detecting fingerprints on human skin. (News).
- Article from:
- The Engineer
- Article date:
- January 10, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FORENSIC EXPERTS in Japan claim to have succeeded in developing a method for obtaining fingerprints left on human skin.
The discovery provides a vital breakthrough in gathering evidence and narrowing down suspects in rape, sexual assault or murder cases.
Fingerprints can currently be obtained from smooth surfaces such as windows, painted surfaces and plastics.
Following a crime, these are sprinkled with powder made from substances such as aluminium.
This then sticks to natural oils secreted by the skin's sweat glands, allowing the shape of the print to become clear.
However, identifying patterns from skin oils left on a victim ...