Study Finds Each Person Has Unique “Microbial Cloud”

It’s no secret that all humans are different, but new research has shown that it’s not just their personality or genetic makeup that individuals unique. According to a new study “(e)very person emits a unique blend on microbes into the air, and this ‘microbial cloud’ is personalized enough that it could be used to identify people,” according to CBSNews. 

Participants in this new study sat alone in steralized room filled with filtered air, wearing identical, clean and provided outfits and sitting in disinfected plastic chairs. Each participant was given a steralized laptop to communicate with the scientists ourside the room. Researchers then collected all of particles that were released by the paricipants and identified the bacteria. The reserachers then performed two experiments.

In the first experiment, researchers compared the air in a chamber occupied by a participant and the unoccupied chamber next door. Three people sat a chamber for a 4 hour session, took a break, and then returned for a 2 hour session. After the 2 hours the researchers were able to determine which of the participants had been present in the room by only examining the bacteria. 

In a second experiment, 8 new  people were asked to sit in the chamber and the researchers were able to “identify most of the occupants just by sampling their microbial cloud.”

These “microbial clouds” consisted mainly of “human-associated bacteria”, inlcuding Streptococcus (commonly found in the mouth) and Propionibacterium and Corynebacterium (both commonly found on the skin). According to CBSNews, the study suggests that these findings could be used forensically, but further reserach would need to be done first.