The fingerprint is not the only characteristic unique to every individual, as scientists identified a distinct "personal microbial cloud" that surrounds people.
According to Discovery News, authors of a study published in the journal PeerJ found that people leave behind a highly unique combination of bacteria and microbes wherever they go, as was the case for 11 volunteers.
For their study, the researchers had each person dwell in a sanitized room for a set period of time. By studying these sequences of bacteria, they were able to detect who was in the room last.
"We expected that we would be able to detect the human microbiome in the air around a person, but we were surprised to find that we could identify most of the occupants just by sampling their microbial cloud," study lead author James F. Meadow, a postdoctoral researcher formerly from the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon, said in a press release.
The research could open a new door for forensic analysis in crime scene investigation, as a criminal would leave behind a distinct microbial signature whether he or she wanted to or not. In that case, the "personal microbial cloud" is even more unique than the fingerprint, as the latter can be covered up with a glove.
Discovery News pointed out that the new study could also help scientists understand how certain diseases are transferred interpersonally.
The researchers wrote in their study: "Our results confirm that an occupied space is microbially distinct from an unoccupied one, and demonstrate for the first time that individuals release their own personalized microbial cloud."
