You might call it 鈥淐SI: Microbe鈥�. Our fingers are home to a unique collection of bacteria that get left on surfaces we touch. By comparing bugs found on a person鈥檚 hand to those recovered at a crime scene, you might be able identify the perpetrator.
鈥淭here are certain situations where human DNA analysis or standard fingerprinting doesn鈥檛 work, maybe this is just another tool,鈥� says , a microbiologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder. His team knew that microbial communities on skin tend to be unique to the individual and change little over time.
To see if these qualities could be applied to forensics, his team swabbed several computer keyboards and the fingertips of their users, then identified about 1400 different kinds of bacteria living on each, using DNA sequencing. The keyboard bacteria closely matched their owner鈥檚 fingertips.
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In another test, Fierer鈥檚 team were able to correctly match nine computer mice with their owners. The 鈥渕icrobeprint鈥� seems to be long-lasting: swabs left at room temperature for two weeks could be matched to their owners. But accuracy issues mean you won鈥檛 see them used in court just yet, Fierer says.
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