2007 paper : Individual and gender fingerprints in human body odour

2007 paper : Individual and gender fingerprints in human body odour

http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/13/331.full

This 2007 paper was investigating whether individuals each have their own 'signature' body odor profile and the researchers seemed to feel that they did prove this principle, by identifying unique patterns of odor compounds in the volunteers sweat, urine and saliva.

Individuals are thought to have their own distinctive scent, analogous to a signature or fingerprint. To test this idea, we collected axillary sweat, urine and saliva from 197 adults from a village in the Austrian Alps, taking five sweat samples per subject over 10 weeks using a novel skin sampling device...

Of course it is unlikely that they have heard of metabolic body odors, especially something like fecal body odor syndrome, but it may lead to knowledge in that are that leads to recognition of metabolic body odor problems. However it's a pity nobody is researching metabolic body odors direct, and we currently have to rely on any likely co-incidental research if that ever happens. An ideal situation would be politicians telling the NIH to set up a body odor and halitosis research program.

The research may be what recently led to the announcement by the USA Department of Homeland Security of a research program into individual 'body odor' profiling, to help in biometrics in criminal cases.

---

related links:
Royal Society Journal search : human sweat