Thread: Sniffing Out Criminals

Are we close to using pheromones as direct evidence that could identify a criminal/perpetrator? Have read where each of us has an odour unique to themselves and scientists are developing more and more sophisticated devices to detect them. So I suppose the big question is: what exactly is a pheromone, a substance/chemical? If our odor is unique individually, then there must be countless billions or even trillions of them. Leads me to believe a pheromone, if a mix of chemicals, must be rather complicated in its makeup. Like why are there so many different pheromones?

Could we simulate a dog’s scent sniffing abilities and use it as a foolproof investigative tool? I think dogs have a special organ in the nose that we don’t have or it’s at least way more powerful than ours. Scent should be as reliable as a fingerprint in order to identify individuals. What are the major stumbling blocks if trying to produce a machine/method that can accurately identify individuals using scent?

Any scent bearing molecules could easily be detected using GC-MS... I suppose it could be possible to identify them all and measure their concentrations to give a "smell print"... (however this may vary in an individual depending on many factors such as diet, stress, time of day and whether they'd changed their underwear

Dogs are cheaper

Originally Posted by PhDemon

Any scent bearing molecules could easily be detected using GC-MS... I suppose it could be possible to identify them all and measure their concentrations to give a "smell print"... (however this may vary in an individual depending on many factors such as diet, stress, time of day and whether they'd changed their underwear

Dogs are cheaper

But would a dog's evidence be admissible in court? Perhaps so, if a policeman's is.