Bond finds new terror fighting technique

LEICESTER, England, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A British scientist says his new fingerprinting technique on bullets could also be used to identify bomb makers.

Dr. John Bond, a forensic research scientist at the University of Leicester, announced Tuesday his chemistry department team is working on military applications for a method of identifying fingerprints on metal items even after they have been wiped off.

After earlier publication of Bond's progress in identifying fingerprints on bullets, he was approached by military personnel in Afghanistan seeking use of the technique on roadside bombs. It could mean even recovered fragments of bombs could be tested for prints.

Bond is hopeful, noting the method first published in the American Journal of Forensic Science has been generally successful.

"We have developed a method that enables us to 'visualize fingerprints' even after the print itself has been removed. We conducted a study into the way fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces," he said. "For the first time we can get prints from people who handled a cartridge before it was fired. Wiping it down, washing it in hot soapy water makes no difference -- and the heat of the shot helps the process we use."