Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives, according to pioneering research led by Michigan State University (MSU).

Currently, law enforcement labs tend to test for DNA on the exploded bomb fragments – but this has a low success rate, said David Foran, an MSU forensic biologist and lead investigator on the research project.

Through the MSU-led study, researchers obtained DNA from eight backpacks that had been blown up with pipe bombs inside, and subsequently obtained full DNA profiles that matched all eight volunteers who had carried the backpacks for a week.

MSU researchers carried out the experiment with the Michigan State Police bomb squad at a Lansing Fire Department facility. Foran’s co-investigators were Shane Hoffmann, a former MSU graduate student now with the FBI, and Shawn Stallworth of the state bomb squad.