Even on what diet a person sits, and whether he smokes
Chemists have learned to determine by the molecules that leave our fingers and breath on the phone screen, a person's place of residence, his diet, diseases and even habits.
“Imagine a scenario in which an investigator finds something personal - for example, a pen, a telephone or a key - that does not have the criminal's DNA, or that DNA is not in any database. And the investigation will end there. We thought - what if we use the traces of his skin chemistry on these items to determine the lifestyle of their owner?”- said Peter Dorrestein of the University of California at San Diego in an article published in the Sciences.
Dorrestein and his colleagues were able to successfully conduct an experiment by transforming the traces of fingerprints, skin and breathing on household items into a highly detailed "biopass" of a person. To do this, scientists drew attention to how various external and internal factors - for example, the composition of the air, the hygiene products used, food and other things - affect the chemical and bacterial composition of the skin.
To make sure that the theory is correct, the experts took samples from 500 mobile devices and different parts of the body, subjecting the obtained materials to analysis using a mass spectrometer.
As a result, thanks to smartphones, scientists managed to find out what medications the owner was taking, or, for example, what he ate during the day. Experts point out that this kind of analysis will not allow 100% to reach the person who owned the device, but in the end it will significantly narrow the number of possible applicants. Thanks to the analysis of molecules, it is possible to find out which smartphone owner is gender, whether he drinks wine, whether he suffers from depression and, if it is a woman, what cosmetics he uses.
Olga ANTONOVA