WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — U.S. researchers have developed a new technique for analyzing fingerprints that reveals, in high detail, the chemical compounds that make up the print.

Researchers from Purdue University reported the detail of their new tech on Thursday in the Aug. 8 issue of Science.

This method can be used directly on a fingerprint, right where it is found, without the need to lift the print off and take it to a lab for analysis. It can also help distinguish among overlapping prints.

The researchers reported that they used a technique called desorption electrospray ionization, or DESI, which involves spraying a solvent onto a fingerprinted surface and then analyzing the droplets that scatter off the print. The technique provides a “chemical image” of the fingerprint with higher resolution than other techniques, allowing researchers to detect minute traces of compounds that were on the fingertips of the person who left the print.

The image can also be analyzed with standard fingerprint imaging software to try and identify that person. On the forensics front, this technique can pick up small amounts of drugs like cocaine or THC from marijuana, as well as compounds from explosives.

Biomedical researchers may also find this technique useful for identifying metabolites or other compounds in fingertip secretions, whose presence may signal other processes happening inside the body, said the authors.

The ten largest companies now account for 49 per cent of the index
A YEAR ago, I attended a lunch at The Scotsman offices to mark the conclusion of the Independent Financial Adviser of the Year competition.

One of the questions posed to the advisers present was when we thought the FTSE 100 index would return to
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the 7,000 level. At the time, the market was just 5 per cent shy of 7,000, but my view was that it was unlikely to ever reach it, which placed me in a minority of one.

A year later, we are now around 25 per cent shy of that figure. I mention this not to claim any special market insight, but because I remember the same question being posed to Tony Nutt (manager of the Jupiter Income Trust) in 2002, and he gave the same answer.

This view can be explained by understanding the makeup of the FTSE 100 index.

Following the collapse of Northern Rock and its subsequent removal from the FTSE 100, the ten largest companies by market capitalisation now account for 49 per cent of the index.

This is further evidence of just how skewed a measure of overall stock market performance this index is.

For some time now, the overall index has been driven largely by around six stocks, with energy and commodity companies on one side and financials on the other.

They have traded places on a virtually daily basis for some time, often with significant volatility. As a result, the performance of the remaining constituents of the index can pass largely unnoticed.

In terms of the index reaching for 7,000, it would require the valuations of significant companies to grow spectacularly from current levels.

However, as a fair number of them carry direct exposure to the UK consumer, this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

A significant point of this for investors has been the impact on equity income funds. This is traditional value investing, where a substantial part of the total return is delivered in the form of dividends, which if reinvested delivers further growth.

The yield on the FTSE 100 index is currently 4.3 per cent, but the commodity stocks, which have been the best performers of late, offer little, if any dividend. Consequently, the value form of investing has been hammered over the past year in particular.

I believe there is a warning here that investors would do well to heed. Time and again we have seen the wheel turn in investment markets and we may well be approaching just such a point.

Fund managers of the quality of Neil Woodford at Invesco Perpetual and Jupiter’s Nutt do not become bad investors. On the contrary, they are class acts who have proved their worth to investors over a number of years.

Pause for thought

THE latest Halifax house price index confirmed my belief that the property market is not yet past the worst of its downturn.

However, speaking to people from the larger cities, and having been around some of them in recent weeks, there is little doubt that, if anything, the situation is actually slightly worse than is being reported.

Basically, banks are unwilling to lend and there is a genuine scarcity of people with the substantial deposits now required to secure borrowing. This is not a situation that is likely to correct itself in the short term, so it appears likely that the rest of this year will see further slides in prices.

As long as people remember that the current downturn is on the back of an unprecedented decade of growth in house prices, then perhaps it is little more than inevitable and, in the longer term, sensible.

While I might seem rather downbeat, I don’t intend to be. We have faced difficult times before – far worse than the current slowdown – and survived. I am old enough to remember servicing a mortgage at 15 per cent interest, backed of course by an endowment policy. In times such as these, it sometimes helps to reflect on where we have been.

• Ken Taylor is director of Mackenzie Taylor Wealth Management

Sudbury – Music and Film in Motion (MFM) is pleased to announce its next workshop from the In Sight and Sound Seminar Series titled “The Craft of Makeup” on Thursday, August 21st from 7 to 9 p.m.

This session will take a look at why and how makeup is essential to film and television productions. Come and explore makeup principles as they apply to characterization, basic makeup techniques as well as the use of tools and materials in makeup application.

The session will be instructed by Sarah Craig. Sarah attended the School of Makeup Art receiving a diploma in the extensive Makeup and Hair Design Program. Prior to this she attended Portland’s Northwest College of Arts where her studies focused on painting. For the past eight years she has continued to hone her skills, working on dozens of series and features.

Predominately working on non-union projects, Sarah is also a permittee with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians which has allowed her to work on such films as Dawn of the Dead, Silent Hill, and Take the Lead. In 2003, she took a leave for just under a year and taught makeup to the students at the Canadian Aesthetics Academy. She has worked with such stars as Ving Rhames, Dean McDermott, Ricardo Chavirs, Stacey Dash, Catherine Bell, and Polly Shannon.

The session, free for members and $5 for non-members, will be taking place at the Near North Mobile Media Lab, located at 150 Main Street East, in North Bay. For more information or to register for this session, please call MFM at 705-674-9954 or visit the website at www.thinknorth.ca. Space is limited so please book ahead to reserve a place. This session is offered in English only.