Malaysian scientists recruit bed bugs as crime scene sleuths

Under glaring laboratory lights, a research assistant extends his forearm and carefully inverts a mesh-topped container onto his skin to allow a wriggling mass of bed bugs to feed on his blood, all in the name of science.

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Long-loathed as itchy house hold pests, the bloodsucking insects have revealed a darker, more intriguing potential as Malaysian scientists have discovered they can be turned into unlikely crime-busting allies.

A team from the Science University of Malaysia (USM) in northern Penang has found that tropical bed bugs can retain DNA from human prey for up to 45 days after snacking on an unwary victim.

This makes the tiny critters, who love to lurk in headboard cracks, mattress seams and pillow covers, ideal evidence resources when it comes to pinpointing suspects at crime scenes.

From a speck of blood, police investigators may one day be able to piece together the full profile of an offender, if the critters are present at a crime scene.

Analysing the insects could reveal gender, eye colour, hair and skin colour, entomologist Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid told AFP.

"We call bed bugs the 'musuh dalam selimut' (Malay for "the enemy in the blanket")," Hafiz said, adding that "they can also be spies" to help solve crimes.

DNA profiling