WHEN a bomb disposal robot destroys a suspicious package, crucial evidence that could trap the would-be bombers can be lost forever. But a device that lets the robot take fingerprints before blowing the package up would give police a much better chance of catching the culprits.
Fingerprints comprise secretions of amino acids, fatty acids and proteins, and are normally made visible in one of two ways. At a crime scene where the prints are fresh and still moist, they can be revealed with a dusting powder. But if prints are old and have largely dried out, they can be disclosed…
