Soon, 'human odourprint' based technology to sniff out criminals

Washington, Oct 15 (ANI): Police long have used trained dogs to sniff out human scents in pursuing criminals. Now, scientists are trying to decipher the chemistry of human odour to develop technology that can detect and classify smells.

They are tracking down those odiferous arches, loops, and whorls in the 'human odourprint' for purposes ranging from disease diagnosis to crime prevention.

According to an article in the current issue of Chemical and Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine, it's a difficult task, noting that each person's odourprint is a complex mixture impacted by multiple environmental factors, including diet and cosmetics.

The article describes progress in that direction, explaining that scientists already have identified odours in human breath and skin associated with diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.

Scientists are even trying to detect the 'smell of deception,' or chemical changes that occur with heightened stress that may help screen and identify, for example, terrorists planning to blow up an airplane and criminals intending to rob a bank. (ANI)