A new method for examining fingerprints provides detailed maps of their chemical composition while creating traditional images of their structural features. Instead of taking samples back to the lab, law-enforcement agents could use the technique, a variation on mass spectrometry, to reveal traces of cocaine, other drugs, and explosives on the scene.Fingerprints are traditionally imaged after coating crime-scene surfaces with chemicals that make them visible. These techniques can be destructive. (source: technologyreview.com)
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