Fingerprint Test Tells Much More Than Identity 166
Mike sends in the story of a new fingerprint technology with interesting potential for both crime detection and rights violations; there are also intriguing possibilities in fighting cancer. "Using a variation of mass spectrometry called 'desorption electrospray ionization' or 'Desi,' a fingerprint can identify what the person has been touching — drugs, explosives, or poisons, for example. Writing in the Friday issue of the journal Science, R. Graham Cooks, a professor of chemistry at Purdue University, and his colleagues describe how the technique could find a wider application in crime investigations. As it becomes cheaper and more widely available, the Desi technology has potential ethical implications, Cooks said. Instead of drug tests, a company could surreptitiously check for illegal drug use of its employees by analyzing computer keyboards after the employees have gone home, for instance."
Re:Signed? (Score:5, Informative)
What's with the "signed" tag on all of the recent stories?
Slashdot now signs all of their stories for the hearing impaired.
Re:Unlikely (Score:5, Informative)
I just saw a blurb in the news about how US currency has the most cocaine out of all currency tested. Handle your average bill (in the US) and you'll have trace amounts of blow on your fingers for sure.
Re:Privacy (Score:3, Informative)
The only drug tests I've had to undergo in the US were for financial institutions. Usually these places put a fair bit more scrutiny on new hires than normal. I can't really speak about how common it is in general.
Re:G A T T A C A (Score:3, Informative)
Gattaca was about discrimination based on genetics, which a person can't (yet) control. This is about detecting trace amounts of substances being moved around by your fingertips.
Re:Privacy (Score:2, Informative)
As the most obvious flaw is with marijuana as it can stay in your system for a month or more under the right circumstances..
3 months actually http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_test#Hair_drug_testing [wikipedia.org]