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Science Friday > Archives > 2001 > August > August 17, 2001:
Hour One: Stem Cell Update / History and Science of Fingerprints

For more than a century, the police have relied on fingerprint evidence to catch and convict criminals. But some recent court cases have challenged the authority of fingerprint experts, and questioned the validity of fingerprint evidence. In this hour of Science Firday, we'll look at the history and science of fingerprinting. How hard is it to match prints to people? Plus, an update on stem cells.

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Guests:
Joe Palca
Senior Science Correspondent
National Public Radio
Washington, DC

Simon Cole
Author, "Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification" (Harvard Univ Pr, 2001)
New York, New York

Colin Beavan
Author, "Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Detection and the Murder Case that Launched Forensic Science" (Hyperion, 2001)
New York, New York

Books/Articles Discussed:

"Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification" by Simon Cole. Harvard University Press, 2001. "Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Detection and the Murder Case that Launched Forensic Science" by COlin Beavan. Hyperion, 2001. (find more SciFri books here)

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Related Links:
NIH: News: Stem Cell Information
National Bioethics Advisory Commission

Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Metropolitan Police Service
The Science of Crime
Open Directory - Science: Science in Society: Forensic Science: Fingerprints
Interpol: Fingerprint
Latent Print Examination
AFIS

This segment produced by: Annette Heist and Charles Bergquist