Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 47 — page 131: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

mm w~Y q AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION THOUGH SWEDEN prides itself on its low incidence of crime, it has recently given to the world a totally new and power- ful method of detecting finger prints. Workers at the Insti- tute of Biochemistry, Uppsala, discovered that aminoacids, present in sweat, are always left on objects that have been touched with naked fingers, and that these acids persist for considerable periods. They devised a technique whereby the aminoacids could be “‘developed’’ by spraying the object with a weak solu- tion of “‘Ninhydrin”’ (triketo- hydrindene hydrate) in acetone and then heating at 80° C. for a minute or two. “‘Ninhydrin” produces a blue colouration with all but two aminoacid- type compounds. It is claimed that this tech- nique detects finger prints on paper thdt has not been touched for twelve years. There can be little doubt that this method will be avidly in- corporated into the routine of forensic science, especially those branches dealing with documentary evidence. * DISSATISFACTION with the re- sults of the Michelson-Morley Experiment as a basis for so important a theory as rela- tivity, coupled with the recent tremendous advances in micro- wave physics, has made several top-ranking physicists con- sider repeating the experiment under conditions which are likely to give results at least ten times as accurate as those obtaining under Michelson’s conditions. So there is still a last word to be said on ether-drift! 130 More news from the frontiers of science next month—including the latest work dealing with Life on Mars! comichooks.conm |