Do you ever stop andthink, during a romantic dinner, "I've just left my fingerprints allover my wine glass."
00:08
(Laughter)
00:09
Or do you ever worry,when you visit a friend, about leaving a little piece of you behind onevery surface that you touch? And even this evening, have you paidany attention to sit without touching anything? Well, you're not alone. Thankfully,criminals underestimate the power of fingerprints, too.And I'm not just talkingabout the twisted parting of lines that make our fingerprintunique. I'm talking about an entire world of information hiding in asmall, often invisible thing. In fact, fingerprints are made up ofmolecules that belong to three classes: sweat molecules that we allproduce in very different amounts ... molecules that we introduce into ourbody and then we sweat out and molecules that we may contaminate ourfingertips with when we come across substances like blood, paint,grease, but also invisible substances. And molecules are thestorytellers of who we are and what we've been up to. We just need tohave the right technology to make them talk.
01:22
So let me take you ona journey of unthinkable capabilities. Katie has been raped and herlifeless body has been found in the woods three days later, after herdisappearance. The police is targeting three suspects, havingnarrowed down the search from over 20 men who had been seen in that areaon the same day. The only piece of evidence is two very faint,overlapping fingerprints on the tape that was found wrapped around Katie'sneck. Often, faint and overlapping fingerprints cannot help thepolice to make an identification. And until recently, this might havebeen the end of the road, but this is where we can make the difference.
02:17
The tape is sent toour labs, where we're asked to use our cutting-edge technology tohelp with the investigation. And here, we use an existing form ofmass spectrometry imaging technology that we have further developed andadapted specifically for the molecular and imaging analysis offingerprints.In essence, we fire a UV laser at the print, and we cause thedesorption of the molecules from the print, ready to be captured by themass spectrometer. Mass spectrometry measures the weight of the molecules-- or as we say, the mass -- and those numbers that you see there,they indicate that mass.But more crucially, they indicate who thosemolecules are -- whether I'm seeing paracetamol or something moresinister, forensically speaking.
03:16
We applied thistechnology to the evidence that we have and we found the presence ofcondom lubricants. In fact, we've developed protocols that enable us toeven suggest what brand of condom might have been used. So we passthis information to the police, who, meanwhile, have obtained a searchwarrant and they found the same brand of condom in Dalton'spremises. And with Dalton and Thomson also having records for sexual assaults, thenit is Chapman that may become the less likely suspect. But is thisinformation enough to make an arrest? Of course not, and we are askedto delve deeper with our investigation.
04:04
So we found out,also, the presence of other two very interesting molecules. One is anantidepressant,and one is a very special molecule. It only forms in yourbody if you drink alcohol and consume cocaine at the same time. Andalcohol is known to potentiate the effects of cocaine, so here, we nowhave a hint on the state of mind of the individual whilst perpetrating thecrime. We passed this information to the police, and they found outthat, actually, Thomson is a drug addict, and he also has a medical recordfor psychotic episodes, for which presumably the antidepressant wasprescribed. So now Thomson becomes the more likely suspect. But thereality is that I still don't know where these molecules are comingfrom, from which fingerprint, and who those two fingerprints belongto.
05:06
Fear not. Massspectrometry imaging can help us further. In fact, the technology is sopowerful that we can see where these molecules are on afingerprint. Like you see in this video, every single one of thosepeaks corresponds to a mass, every mass to a molecule, and we caninterrogate the software, by selecting each of those molecules, as towhere they are present on a fingermark. And some images are not veryrevealing, some are better, some are really good. And we cancreate multiple images of the same mark -- in theory, hundreds of imagesof the same fingerprint -- for as many of the molecules that we havedetected.
05:57
So step one... for overlapping fingerprints, chances are, especially if theycome from different individuals, that the molecular composition is notidentical, so let's ask the software to visualize those uniquemolecules just present in one fingermark and not in the other one. Bydoing so, that's how we can separate the two ridge patterns. And thisis really important because the police now are able to identify one of thetwo fingerprints, which actually corresponds to Katie. And they'vebeen able to say so because they've compared the two separateimages with one taken posthumously from Katie. So now, we canconcentrate on one fingerprint only -- that of the killer's.
06:52
So then, step two... where are these three molecules that I've seen? Well, let'sinterrogate the software -- show me where they are. And by doingthis, only portions of the image of the killer's fingerprint showup. In other words, those substances are only present in the killer'sprint. So now our molecular findings start matching very nicely thepolice intelligence about Thomson, should that fingerprint belong tohim. But the reality is that that print is still not good enough tomake an identification.
07:34
Stepthree: since we can generate hundreds of images of the samefingerprint, why don't we superimpose them, and by doing so, tryto improve the rich pattern of continuity and clarity?
07:50
That's theresult. Striking. We now have a very clear image of thefingerprint and the police can run it through the database. The matchcomes out to Thomson. Thomson is our killer.
08:05
(Applause)
08:09
Katie, the suspectsand the circumstances of the crime aren't real, but the story containselements of the real police casework we've been confronted with, andis a composite of the intelligence that we can provide -- that we havebeen able to provide the police. And I'm really, really thrilled thatafter nine years of intense research, as of 2017, we are able tocontribute to police investigations.
08:41
Mine is no longer adream; it's a goal. We're going to do this wider andwider, bigger and bigger, and we're going to know more about thesuspect, and we're going to build an identikit. I believe this isalso a new era for criminal profiling. The work of thecriminologist draws on the expert recognition of behavioralpatterns that have been observed before to belong to a certaintype, to a certain profile. As opposed to this expert but subjectiveevaluation, we're trying to do the same thing, but from the molecularmakeup of the fingerprint, and the two can work together.
09:24
I did say thatmolecules are storytellers, so information on your health, youractions, your lifestyle, your routines, they're all there, accessiblein a fingerprint. And molecules are the storytellers of our secretsin justa touch.
09:46
Thank you.
09:47
(Audience) Wow.
09:49
(Applause)
中文翻译如下：
在进行浪漫晚餐的时候， 你们有没有停下来想想， “我刚在红酒杯上留满了指纹”。
00:08
（笑声）
00:09
或者你有没有担心，当你拜访朋友时， 在每一个触碰中留下的那一丝痕迹？ 即便今天晚上， 你们坐下时有没有留意不触碰任何东西？ 好吧，并不只是你们如此。 谢天谢地，犯罪分子也低估了指纹的力量。 我说的可不只是那一条条让我们的指纹 独一无二的扭曲线条。 我谈论的是整个隐藏在 微小，常常不可见的物体中的信息世界。 事实上，组成指纹的分子 可以分为三大类： 我们产生的数量非常不同的汗液分子… 进入我们体内然后排出去的分子 和污染我们指尖的分子， 在我们遇到像血液，油漆，油脂那样的物质时， 但也有不可见的物质。 分子是我们是谁 和我们一直所从事的事的说书人。 我们只是需要有合适技术让它们开口说话。
01:22
所以，让我带你们踏上这段 不可思议的能力之旅。 凯蒂被强奸了， 她的尸体在她失踪后的三天 在树林里被发现。 警方锁定了三个嫌疑人， 已从案发当天被目击路过那片区域的 超过20人中缩减而来。 唯一的证据 是缠在凯蒂脖子的带子上面 发现的两个非常模糊的、重叠的指纹。 通常情况下，模糊和重叠的指纹对警方鉴定 没有帮助。 直至最近，这可能还是走不通， 但这是我们可以发挥作用的地方。
02:17
带子送到了我们实验室， 我们被要求使用最尖端技术 来帮助调查。 在这里，我们使用了一种 现成的质谱成像技术， 我们已经专门针对指纹的 分子和成像分析做了进一步的开发和适配。 原理上，我们朝指纹发射一束紫外激光， 去引发指纹上的分子解吸， 为被质谱仪捕获做好准备。 质谱法测量分子的重量—— 或者如我们所说，质量—— 你看到的这些数字，它们表示质量。 但更关键的是， 它们表示这些分子是谁—— 我看到的是对乙酰氨基酚 或是从法医证物角度来说更罪恶的东西。
03:16
我们对证物采用这个技术 并从中发现了避孕套的润滑剂。 事实上，我们开发了一套流程让我们甚至可以知道 使用什么牌子的避孕套。 于是我们把这个信息传达给警方， 警方，同时已经取得了搜查证 并在道尔顿的房子里发现了 同样牌子的避孕套。 鉴于道尔顿和汤姆森也有性侵犯的记录， 那么，查普曼就不太可能成为嫌疑人。 但这个信息足够去逮捕人了吗？ 当然不够， 我们被要求深入我们的调查。
04:04
于是我们也发现了另外两个 非常有趣的分子的存在。 一种是抗抑郁药， 另一种是非常特殊的分子。 如果你同时喝酒和吸食可卡因， 只会在你的身体中形成。 众所周知，酒精会增强可卡因的作用， 所以在这，我们现在有了一个 关于个人心理状态的提示。 我们把信息传递给警方， 他们发现，事实上汤姆森是个瘾君子， 而且他也有精神病发的医疗记录， 大概是用抗抑郁药开的处方。 所以现在汤姆森成为了更有可能的嫌疑人。 但事实是，我仍然不知道 这些分子是从哪里来的， 来自谁的指纹， 这两个指纹属于谁的。
05:06
不要害怕。 质谱成像可以帮助我们更进一步。 事实上，这个技术是如此强大 我们可以看到这些分子在指纹上的位置。 如这个视频中所看到， 每一个波峰都对应一个质量， 每一个质量对应一个分子， 我们可以通过选择每一个分子，并查询这个软件， 来了解它们在一个手指上的位置。 有些照片不能说明问题， 有些更好些， 有些真的很好。 我们可以创建相同标记的多个图像—— 理论上，对于我们检测到的很多分子， 可以创建同个指纹的上百张图像。
05:57
所以步骤1… 对于重叠的指纹，很大可能性是， 特别是如果它们来自不同的个体， 分子组成是不一样的， 让我们让软件来可视化这些 只在一个手指上，而不在 另一个手指上的独特分子。 这样做， 这就是我们如何分离这两种嵴线类型的方法。 这真是非常重要， 因为警察现在就可以鉴定两个指纹中的一个， 其中正好和凯蒂的是相对应的。 他们现在可以这样说 是因为他们把这两张分开的图片 跟死后的凯蒂上拍到的做了对比。 所以现在，我们可以聚焦在只有一个指纹上了—— 属于凶手的。
06:52
然后，步骤2… 我所见过的这三个分子在哪里？ 好吧，让我们来查一下软件—— 告诉我它们在哪里。通过这样做， 只有凶手的部分指纹出现了。 换句话说， 这些物质只存在于凶手的指纹中。 所以现在我们的分子发现开始很好地匹配 警察掌握的关于汤姆森的情报， 那指纹应该属于他。 但事实是这个指纹仍然不够好 去做鉴定。
07:34
步骤3: 既然我们可以生成数百张相同指纹的图像， 我们为什么不把它们叠加起来呢， 通过这样做， 试着改善连续性和清晰性的丰富模式。
07:50
这就是结果。 非常惊人。 我们现在有了指纹的清晰图像， 警察已经可以在数据库中检索了。 匹配结果显示是汤姆森。 汤姆森就是凶手。
08:05
（鼓掌）
08:09
凯蒂、犯罪嫌疑人和犯罪现场都不是真实的， 但这个故事包含了 我们所遇到的真正的警察案件的元素， 而这也包含了我们所能提供给警察的 情报信息的组合。 在9年的深入研究后，我真的真的非常激动， 在2017年， 我们能够对警方的调查做出贡献。
08:41
我的梦想不再是梦想； 它是个目标。 我们要做得越来越广， 越来越大， 我们要了解更多嫌疑人的信息， 我们要建立一个身份证明。 我相信这也是犯罪档案的新时代。 犯罪学家的工作 利用了将过去观察过的行为模式 归属于特定类型和画像 的专家认可。 相对于专家这种主观评估， 我们在试图做同样的事情， 但从指纹的分子结构去看， 这两者可以一起工作。
09:24
我说过分子是讲故事的， 所以关于你的健康信息， 你的行为，你的生活形态，你的日常生活， 它们全在那里， 可通过指纹获取。 只需轻轻触碰，分子是 我们秘密的说书人。
09:46
谢谢
09:47
（观众）哇。 （掌声）