Fast-food could betray criminals (new fingerprint detection tech)

[TechBear_Seattle]

Fast-food could betray criminals

Criminals with an appetite for fast food could be tracked down more easily with a new fingerprinting technique that utilises the salt in their sweat.

Police can now detect corrosion left on metal by finger-tip sweat - the saltier the diet, the more the metal corrodes.

The technique works better than traditional fingerprinting which relies on residue that can be wiped away.

Northamptonshire Police's Dr John Bond, who developed the method, said it had so far been used in four active cases.

He said: "On the basis that processed foods tend to be high in salt as a preservative, the body needs to excrete excess salt which comes out as sweat through the pores in our fingers.

"So the sweaty fingerprint impression you leave when you touch a surface will be high in salt if you eat a lot of processed foods - the higher the salt, the better the corrosion of the metal."

The full article can be read at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7617142.stm