Technology that can distinguish gender with 96% accuracy from `` hand smell '' has appeared, and the possibility of criminal investigation even if fingerprints and DNA cannot be collected



Research results have been announced that by analyzing the odor emitted from the palm using a high-performance analysis machine and a new data analysis program, the gender of the owner of the odor can be determined with an accuracy of 96.67%. Since many crimes are done by hand, it is expected that if research on this technology progresses, it can be used to narrow down criminals and important people in investigations.

Multivariate regression modeling for gender prediction using volatile organic compounds from hand odor profiles via HS-SPME-GC-MS | PLOS ONE

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286452

Research finds sex can be confirmed by hand odor | FIU News - Florida International University
https://news.fiu.edu/2023/research-finds-sex-can-be-confirmed-by-hand-odor

It's Possible to Identify Someone's Sex With 96% Accuracy With Just a Sniff of Their Hand : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/its-possible-to-identify-someones-sex-with-96-accuracy-with-just-a-sniff-of-their-hand

Science Can Tell if You're a Woman—From How Your Hand Smells
https://www.newsweek.com/science-woman-hand-smells-study-1811041

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have long been used as cues to identify and track people in crime scenes, but this technique relies on sniffer dogs with their excellent sense of smell. Although it is possible to analyze VOCs with science and technology, previous studies have mainly focused on odors collected from exhaled breath and armpits, and their application in forensic medicine has been limited.

This time, a research team led by Kenneth Farton, executive director of the Florida International University Global Forensics and Justice Center, focused on the smell of hands that touch evidence in many crimes such as robbery and assault. There's a cardinal rule in forensics that ``every touch leaves a mark,'' and if a suspect touches something, the person's sweat, sebum, and other secretions will inevitably stick to it.



The research team first asked a total of 60 volunteers, 30 men and women, who had been washing their hands for at least 1 hour, to hold the gauze for 10 minutes and sampled the odor of the volunteers' palms. Then, using a technique commonly used in chemical research, such as 'headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS),' the substances contained in the sample are identified, Data were analyzed with a proprietary analysis program.

As a result, the research team succeeded in identifying the sex of the volunteers who provided the samples with an accuracy of 96.67%. Only 2 individuals, 1 male and 1 female, failed to be identified, and the actual gender of the remaining 58 individuals matched the analysis results.

While it is well known that dogs can identify individual humans, both living and dead, this is the first time that we have demonstrated in the laboratory that we can analyze human odors to determine gender with high accuracy.



This technique can be used to determine the sex of suspects in the absence or insufficiency of other biological samples such as fingerprints or DNA. In the future, it will be possible to narrow down suspects based on more characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and age. ``Hand odor profiling alone could reveal many details of potential perpetrators,'' the research team said in a statement.

'Human odors can last for days and can be stored for years, which could be analyzed and used to match individuals,' Farton said. We haven't investigated the accuracy of the analysis, but past studies have demonstrated that human odors persist for a very long time.'

in Science, Posted by log1l_ks