Biometrics.

• Position: Hit

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* Using attributes of the human body to identify crime suspects has been a law enforcement tactic for more than a century.

Until recently, fingerprints and mug shots were the means most employed to identity individuals, but today voice recognition, palm prints, vein and iris patterns and even DNA have been thrown into the mix. An added bonus is the digital revolution that makes collecting, storing and transmitting biometric data easier than ever.

Biometrics-based sensors and data-mining systems have been welcome by the U.S. military in Iraq, where insurgents hide among the population and separating friend from foe is tough business.

Some Iraqi villagers have submitted to fingerprint and iris scans to create secure identity cards so they can keep strangers out (if their towns.

Special operators and other covert teams are coupling biometric with forensic science to take down bomb-making networks. Using a 22-pound kit...