Crime Scene: October 2010 Archives

This from Sandra Tsing Loh at KPCC's Loh Down on Science:

University of Colorado found that the collection of 150 or so microbe species living on a person's hand are different from the germs on any other hand. Our germs, like fingerprints or DNA, are a form of ID.

The scientists recently lifted bacterial colonies from computer keyboards used by one volunteer from a group. After comparing the germy DNA to the germy DNA of everyone in the group, the researchers identified the computer's user.

It's like Clue!

When the researchers compared their samples to the Human Skin Microbiome project - a big database of people and germs? The positive-ID held up. They could still finger their suspects.