News
ONE IN TEN HAVE DRUG TRACES ON THEIR FINGERPRINTS
Scientists have found that drugs are now so prevalent that more than one in ten people taking part in a test were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingerprints – despite never using them.
Analysing the chemical composition of sweat, Surrey researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly.
Dr Melanie Bailey, Lecturer in Forensic Analysis, said: “Believe it or not, cocaine is a very common environmental contaminant – it is well known that it is present on many bank notes. Even so, we were surprised that it was detected in so many of our fingerprint samples.”
Researchers tested the fingerprints of 50 drug-free volunteers and 15 drug users who testified to taking either cocaine or heroin in the previous 24 hours.
Around 13 per cent of fingerprints were found to contain cocaine and one per cent contained a metabolite of heroin (a substance made or used when the body breaks down the drug eg fat or muscle tissue). Scientists set a cut-off point for their measurements to distinguish between a ‘normal’ level of environmental contamination and the level resulting from actual drug use.
CROWDFUNDERS BACK THE BIKE SCHEME
The University has launched a new bike share scheme this summer, with future plans to include Guildford town centre. The initiative was prompted by the Santander Cycles University Challenge, a national crowdfunding competition that gives universities a chance to develop their own bespoke cycle hire scheme.
Surrey’s crowdfunding efforts raised £69,906, achieving 4th place overall and resulting in a £75,000 cash prize from nextbike, the European leader of bike share schemes. The campaign received a further £25,000 boost from the University, and 50 bikes and docking stations will soon be installed across our two campuses.
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Forever Surrey 2018
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