What is used for the recovery of hairs and fibers?

• A. Sterile tweezers
• B. Tape
• C. Scissors
• D. Forceps

Answer: (A)

When recovering hairs and fibers, the aim is to preserve the sample's integrity and avoid contaminating it with extraneous material. Sterile tweezers provide a precise, controlled way to lift single hairs or small fibers without bending, breaking, or transferring material from your hands or tools. Using sterile tweezers helps maintain a clean sample and reduces the risk of introducing DNA or other contaminants that could complicate analysis or confuse results.

Tape can be useful for lifting trace evidence in some situations, but it often introduces adhesive residues or transfer from the tape itself, which can contaminate the evidence. Scissors would likely cut or alter fibers, changing their length and structure and potentially destroying informative characteristics. Forceps function similarly to tweezers, but the sterile condition and control offered by sterile tweezers make them the preferred choice for this type of evidence recovery.