US scientists have used infrared (IR) spectroscopy to distinguish between overlapping fingerprints and reveal their chemical history.Ira Levin and colleagues, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, claim the technique can identify latent (invisible) fingerprints containing contaminants, such as drugs or explosives, and filter out overlapping fingerprints originating from the natural secretions found in fingertips. Previous IR studies of fingerprints have been based only on natural secretions, says Levin, and so failed to provide this extra forensic evidence.
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