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双语原稿 | 指纹透露的信息，超乎你的想象！

西外英语 · 公众号 · · 2020-12-15 22:20

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我们的指纹令我们独一无二，但它们也是揭露我们的行为，生活形态和日常生活信息的一个隐秘世界。在这个演讲中，化学家Simona展示了她如何使用质谱仪来追踪分子，这种技术可以利用过去不可见的细节来分析指纹，如何帮助警察抓捕罪犯？

演说者：Simona Francese

演说题目：指纹透露的信息，超乎你的想象！

中英文对照翻译

Do you ever stop and think, during a romantic dinner, "I ve just left my fingerprints all over my wine glass."

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”。

Or do you ever worry, when you visit a friend, about leaving a little piece of you behind on every surface that you touch?

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？

And even this evening, have you paid any attention to sit without touching anything?

即便今天晚上，你们坐下时有没有留意不触碰任何东西？

Well, you re not alone. Thankfully, criminals underestimate the power of fingerprints, too.

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。

And I m not just talking about the twisted parting of lines that make our fingerprint unique.

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。

I m talking about an entire world of information hiding in a small, often invisible thing.

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。

In fact, fingerprints are made up of molecules that belong to three classes:

事实上，组成指纹的分子可以分为三大类：

sweat molecules that we all produce in very different amounts ... molecules that we introduce into our body and then we sweat out and molecules that we may contaminate our fingertips with when we come across substances like blood, paint, grease, but also invisible substances.

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。

And molecules are the storytellers of who we are and what we ve been up to.

分子是我们是谁和我们一直所从事的事的说书人。

We just need to have the right technology to make them talk.

我们只是需要有合适技术让它们开口说话。

So let me take you on a journey of unthinkable capabilities.

所以，让我带你们踏上这段不可思议的能力之旅。

Katie has been raped and her lifeless body has been found in the woods three days later, after her disappearance.

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。

The police is targeting three suspects, having narrowed down the search from over 20 men who had been seen in that area on the same day.

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。

The only piece of evidence is two very faint, overlapping fingerprints on the tape that was found wrapped around Katie s neck.

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。

Often, faint and overlapping fingerprints cannot help the police to make an identification.

通常情况下，模糊和重叠的指纹对警方鉴定没有帮助。

And until recently, this might have been the end of the road, but this is where we can make the difference.

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。

The tape is sent to our labs, where we re asked to use our cutting-edge technology to help with the investigation.

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。

And here, we use an existing form of mass spectrometry imaging technology that we have further developed and adapted specifically for the molecular and imaging analysis of fingerprints.

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。

In essence, we fire a UV laser at the print, and we cause the desorption of the molecules from the print, ready to be captured by the mass spectrometer.

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。

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.

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。

But more crucially, they indicate who those molecules are whether I m seeing paracetamol or something more sinister, forensically speaking.

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。

We applied this technology to the evidence that we have and we found the presence of condom lubricants.

我们对证物采用这个技术并从中发现了避孕套的润滑剂。

In fact, we ve developed protocols that enable us to even suggest what brand of condom might have been used.

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。

So we pass this information to the police, who, meanwhile, have obtained a search warrant and they found the same brand of condom in Dalton s premises.

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。

And with Dalton and Thomson also having records for sexual assaults, then it is Chapman that may become the less likely suspect.

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。

But is this information enough to make an arrest?

但这个信息足够去逮捕人了吗？

Of course not, and we are asked to delve deeper with our investigation.

当然不够，我们被要求深入我们的调查。

So we found out, also, the presence of other two very interesting molecules.

于是我们也发现了另外两个非常有趣的分子的存在。

One is an antidepressant, and one is a very special molecule.

一种是抗抑郁药，另一种是非常特殊的分子。

It only forms in your body if you drink alcohol and consume cocaine at the same time.

如果你同时喝酒和吸食可卡因，只会在你的身体中形成。

And alcohol is known to potentiate the effects of cocaine, so here, we now have a hint on the state of mind of the individual whilst perpetrating the crime.

众所周知，酒精会增强可卡因的作用，所以在这儿，我们现在有了一个关于个人心理状态的提示。

We passed this information to the police, and they found out that, actually, Thomson is a drug addict, and he also has a medical record for psychotic episodes, for which presumably the antidepressant was prescribed.

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。

So now Thomson becomes the more likely suspect.

所以现在汤姆森成为了更有可能的嫌疑人。

But the reality is that I still don t know where these molecules are coming from, from which fingerprint, and who those two fingerprints belong to.

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。

Fear not. Mass spectrometry imaging can help us further.

不要害怕。质谱成像可以帮助我们更进一步。

In fact, the technology is so powerful that we can see where these molecules are on a fingerprint.

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。

Like you see in this video, every single one of those peaks corresponds to a mass, every mass to a molecule, and we can interrogate the software, by selecting each of those molecules, as to where they are present on a fingermark.

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。

And some images are not very revealing, some are better, some are really good.

有些照片不能说明问题，有些更好些，有些真的很好。

And we can create multiple images of the same mark -- in theory, hundreds of images of the same fingerprint for as many of the molecules that we have detected.

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。

So step one ... for overlapping fingerprints, chances are, especially if they come from different individuals, that the molecular composition is not identical, so let s ask the software to visualize those unique molecules just present in one fingermark and not in the other one.

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。

By doing so, that s how we can separate the two ridge patterns.

这样做，这就是我们如何分离这两种嵴线类型的方法。

And this is really important because the police now are able to identify one of the two fingerprints, which actually corresponds to Katie.

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。

And they ve been able to say so because they ve compared the two separate images with one taken posthumously from Katie.

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。

So now, we can concentrate on one fingerprint only -- that of the killer s.

所以现在，我们可以聚焦在只有一个指纹上了--属于凶手的。

So then, step two ... where are these three molecules that I ve seen?

然后，步骤2...我所见过的这三个分子在哪里？

Well, let s interrogate the software -- show me where they are.

好吧，让我们来查一下软件--告诉我它们在哪里。

And by doing this, only portions of the image of the killer s fingerprint show up.

通过这样做，只有凶手的部分指纹出现了。

In other words, those substances are only present in the killer s print.

换句话说，这些物质只存在于凶手的指纹中。

So now our molecular findings start matching very nicely the police intelligence about Thomson, should that fingerprint belong to him.

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。

But the reality is that that print is still not good enough to make an identification.

但事实是这个指纹仍然不够好去做鉴定。

Step three: since we can generate hundreds of images of the same fingerprint, why don t we superimpose them, and by doing so, try to improve the rich pattern of continuity and clarity?

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。

That s the result. Striking. We now have a very clear image of the fingerprint and the police can run it through the database.

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。

The match comes out to Thomson. Thomson is our killer.

匹配结果显示是汤姆森。汤姆森就是凶手。

Katie, the suspects and the circumstances of the crime aren t real, but the story contains elements of the real police casework we ve been confronted with, and is a composite of the intelligence that we can provide -- that we have been able to provide the police.

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。

And I m really, really thrilled that after nine years of intense research, as of 2017, we are able to contribute to police investigations.

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。

Mine is no longer a dream; it s a goal. We re going to do this wider and wider, bigger and bigger, and we re going to know more about the suspect, and we re going to build an identikit.

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。

I believe this is also a new era for criminal profiling.

我相信这也是犯罪档案的新时代。

The work of the criminologist draws on the expert recognition of behavioral patterns that have been observed before to belong to a certain type, to a certain profile.

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。

As opposed to this expert but subjective evaluation, we re trying to do the same thing, but from the molecular makeup of the fingerprint, and the two can work together.

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。

I did say that molecules are storytellers, so information on your health, your actions, your lifestyle, your routines, they re all there, accessible in a fingerprint.

我说过分子是讲故事的，

双语原稿 | 指纹透露的信息，超乎你的想象！

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