Simona Francese: Your fingerprints reveal more than you think
Simona Francese: Tus huellas dactilares dicen mucho más de lo que piensas
Simona Francese is a chemist by training who is passionate about forensics. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
during a romantic dinner,
en medio de una cena romántica:
all over my wine glass."
por toda la copa de vino"?
when you visit a friend,
tras visitar a un amigo,
on every surface that you touch?
cada una de las superficies que tocaron?
to sit without touching anything?
sentarse sin tocar nada?
the power of fingerprints, too.
el poder de las huellas dactilares.
the twisted parting of lines
de la impresión de líneas torcidas
huellas dactilares en únicas.
an entire world of information
y, a menudo, invisible.
are made up of molecules
están formadas por moléculas
in very different amounts ...
en muy distintas cantidades...
and then we sweat out
y después expulsamos al sudar
our fingertips with
nuestras huellas dactilares
like blood, paint, grease,
como sangre, pintura, grasa,
the storytellers of who we are
the right technology to make them talk.
adecuada para hacerlas hablar.
of unthinkable capabilities.
de impensables capacidades.
in the woods three days later,
en el bosque tres días después
the search from over 20 men
la búsqueda de más de 20 hombres
in that area on the same day.
zona ese mismo día.
overlapping fingerprints
muy borrosas y superpuestas
wrapped around Katie's neck.
alrededor del cuello de Katie.
cannot help the police
y superpuestas no ayudan a que la policía
this might have been the end of the road,
este habría sido el final del camino,
we can make the difference.
es enviada a nuestros laboratorios,
our cutting-edge technology
nuestra avanzada tecnología
de espectrometría de masas
desarrollando y adaptando
analysis of fingerprints.
y de imagen de las huellas dactilares.
a UV laser at the print,
en la impresión de la huella
of the molecules from the print,
de las moléculas de dicha impresión,
by the mass spectrometer.
por el espectrómetro de masas.
the weight of the molecules --
el peso de las moléculas
they indicate that mass.
son los que indican esa masa.
forensically speaking.
pericialmente hablando.
to the evidence that we have
a las pruebas que ya teníamos
of condom lubricants.
de lubricantes de condones.
that enable us to even suggest
que incluso nos permiten sugerir
que se podría haber utilizado.
have obtained a search warrant
of condom in Dalton's premises.
de condones en casa de Dalton.
also having records for sexual assaults,
antecedentes por abusos sexuales,
the less likely suspect.
el sospechoso menos probable.
enough to make an arrest?
para llevar a cabo un arresto?
with our investigation.
en nuestra investigación.
of other two very interesting molecules.
otras dos moléculas muy interesantes.
and consume cocaine at the same time.
consumes cocaína al mismo tiempo.
the effects of cocaine,
los efectos de la cocaína,
on the state of mind
del estado mental
whilst perpetrating the crime.
perpetuaba el delito.
Thomson is a drug addict,
Thomson es drogadicto,
for psychotic episodes,
también constan episodios psicóticos,
the antidepressant was prescribed.
fueron prescritos los antidepresivos.
the more likely suspect.
en el sospechoso más factible.
where these molecules are coming from,
de dónde vienen esas moléculas,
huellas dactilares
can help us further.
de masas dicen mucho más.
these molecules are on a fingerprint.
esas moléculas en la huella dactilar.
corresponds to a mass,
corresponde a una masa,
by selecting each of those molecules,
seleccionando cada una de esas moléculas,
on a fingermark.
presentes en una huella.
of the same mark --
de la misma huella
of the same fingerprint --
de la misma huella dactilar--
that we have detected.
que hemos encontrado.
lo más probable es,
from different individuals,
de personas diferentes,
is not identical,
no sea idéntica
to visualize those unique molecules
que visualice esas moléculas únicas
and not in the other one.
pero no en la otra.
the two ridge patterns.
los dos patrones de cresta.
to identify one of the two fingerprints,
de identificar una de esas dos huellas,
the two separate images
on one fingerprint only --
únicamente en una de las huellas,
molecules that I've seen?
moléculas que he visto?
show me where they are.
muéstrame dónde están.
of the killer's fingerprint show up.
de la huella dactilar del asesino.
in the killer's print.
en la huella del asesino.
start matching very nicely
empiezan a coincidir perfectamente
is still not good enough
sigue sin ser lo suficientemente buena
of the same fingerprint,
de imágenes de la misma huella,
of continuity and clarity?
de la continuidad y la claridad?
of the fingerprint
de la huella dactilar
through the database.
mediante la base de datos.
of the crime aren't real,
circunstancias del crimen no son reales,
contiene elementos
we've been confronted with,
que hemos confrontado
that we can provide --
que podemos aportar,
to provide the police.
de darle a la policía.
that after nine years of intense research,
tras 9 años de intensa investigación,
to police investigations.
con las investigaciones policiales.
more about the suspect,
for criminal profiling.
para la elaboración del perfil criminal.
of behavioral patterns
de patrones del comportamiento
to belong to a certain type,
de catalogarlos en un tipo determinado,
but subjective evaluation,
aunque subjetiva,
of the fingerprint,
de la huella dactilar,
your routines,
tu estilo de vida, tus rutinas,
the storytellers of our secrets
las que cuentan todos nuestros secretos
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Simona Francese - Analytical chemistSimona Francese is a chemist by training who is passionate about forensics.
Why you should listen
Simona Francese is a Professor of Forensic and Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. As she writes: "I have been fascinated by forensics since I was 17, and I was determined to pursue an educational route that eventually would enable me to contribute to secure societies. As always in life, nothing is straightforward. I enrolled in the chemistry course because it was the closest degree at the time that could lead me to where I wanted to be. I ended up doing a PhD and post-doctorate fellowships working with viruses and diseases. But I was always focused on my ultimate objective, and throughout I developed a strong expertise in mass spectrometry, which is an extremely versatile analytical technique. This was crucial.
"When I obtained my first lectureship, I had the freedom to build my own research, and I used mass spectrometry imaging to develop ways to profile individuals from their fingermarks, thus helping police with their investigations. What has the suspect been handling? What is their lifestyle? What did he do prior to or while committing the crime? These are some of the questions that the developed technology can answer, and we are working on providing additional information -- for example, on the pathological or pharmacological state of the individual, just from looking at their fingermark! A fantastic achievement for me, but the best accomplishment was keeping the focus for 14 years and remaining determined to finally be able to do what I have always been so passionate about."
Simona Francese | Speaker | TED.com