Criminals Who East Processed Foods More Likely TO Be Discovered, Through Fingerprint Sweat Corroding Metal.

Can fast food and other processed meals make one's fingerprints more distinct? According the Dr. John Bond from University of Leicester and scientific support officer at Northamptonshire Police, processed foods increase the salt content of an individual's sweat causing their fingerprints to be more corrosive to the objects they touch. 

Processed foods are chalk-full of salt and in order for the body to get rid of all the extra salt it ingests, the body sweats it out through pours on the fingertips. The higher the sweat's salt content is, the more corrosive the sweat is on the object it has come in contact with. Thus as the corrosion increases, it becomes easier for investigators to determine who the fingerprint belongs to because the corrosion makes the fingerprint more distinct.

Not only does sweat help identify the fingerprint of a suspect, but sweat also tells investigators certain lifestyle information, such as the general food habits of the suspect. Sweat is able to provide investigators with information such as this solely based on the salt content of the sweat marks left behind. The varying levels of salt content within the sweat provides the investigators with a general idea of what the suspect eats.

Dr. John Bond hopes to make further breakthroughs in sweat itself in order to profile an individual based only of the information sweat provided the investigators with.

web address: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915210509.htm