Monday, February 02, 2009

Eating Processed Foods Makes it Easier for the Detection of Fingerprints


by blogger cos

A UK forensic scientist at the University of Leicester has found that sweaty fingerprints which are high in salt content will leave more of a corrosive impression in the metal they are deposited on. The more corrosive prints can be easily visualized using a novel technique which could help in solving crimes in the future and previously unsolved cases. The connection has been made to processed foods because they are generally high in salt. As a result criminals, who have a diet high in processed foods are more likely to be discovered using this novel technique.

Dr John Bond, a researcher at the University of Leicester and scientific support officer at Northamptonshire Police, said processed food fans are more likely to leave tell-tale signs at a crime scene.

Speaking before a conference on forensic science at the University of Leicester, Dr Bond said sweaty fingerprint marks made more of a corrosive impression on metal if they had a high salt content.

And he revealed he was currently in early talks with colleagues at the University of Leicester to assess whether a sweat mark left at a crime scene could be analysed to reveal a ‘sweat profile’ ie more about the type of person who left the mark...

...Dr Bond 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."

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