As reported in the UK Independent, scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University claim they can now detect lies, damned lies and micro-gestures with the world’s most sophisticated lie-detector. Five years in development, the so-called “Silent Talker” identifies the deceitful by spotting muscle twitches using only a laptop computer and a video camera to detect and analyze thousands of tiny facial movements, many imperceptible to the naked eye. The device has the potential to screen for hijackers and insurance cheats with unprecedented accuracy. “They interviewed the Yorkshire Ripper at least five times [before he was caught]. I am convinced that this is the kind of device which would have told them something was wrong.” said Dr. Zuhair Bandar, the project director. He claims an 80 per cent accuracy rate for the device, compared to a 60 per cent rate for the traditional polygraph lie detector that monitors signs of stress such as perspiration, heart rate and voice pitch. The Silent Talker is also much simpler to use than conventional polygraphs and it delivers degrees of lying – complete lie and half-lie. No word if it would work on replicants like those in Blade Runner.