Sweating is a small thing, but the information that we can gather is not small at all.
Most people want to reduce their sweat production. But perhaps you don’t know that this is considered a valuable source of data to help researchers exploit to fight disease as well as apply it to… security technology on smartphones . Sweat is a mixture of chemicals that not only signals the state of our bodies today, but is also very special to each person, when we all have different sweats.
In a recent report published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, University At Albany University forensic scientist Jan Halámek and his colleagues say they analyzed 25 sweat samples from volunteers and 50 samples of artificial sweat (simulating a mixture of chemicals in sweat). By looking at the concentrations of three chemical components: urea, glutamate and lactate in sweat, they found that it was simple to tell who each sweat sample belonged to.
Therefore, Halámek wants to apply this idea to criminal work, because sweat once poured out will be very difficult to completely erase at the crime scene, so that criminals can be traced easily from the grave. His stink compared to relying on fingerprints. In addition, his team confidently claims that with only a specialized material they have developed, law enforcement forces can take a sweat sample and analyze it in the blink of an eye.
Tennis player Rafael Nadal at the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Master tournament.
This idea is not the same as using DNA to analyze and find the culprit who owns that genome, because DNA is fixed and sweat contains chemicals that change within a day, so it will be difficult to identify. Determine whose sweat it is. Primarily this measure is only possible in locating suspects, sweat stains can show how many specific people were present at the scene. In the past, Halámek has had studies using sweat to find out gender (even with sweat samples from babies a few months old). His team is currently working on developing a “forensic toolbox” to identify people-specific factors such as gender, age and eating habits. “I hope one day I will be able to analyze sweat stains at the crime scene and deduce that the suspect is a ‘tall, white woman in good health’ or ‘a tall, white woman’ or ‘a woman’,” Halámek said. old man with liver disease””.
While the chemical composition of sweat won’t help forensic experts figure out exactly which individual it belongs to, it could be used to unlock mobile devices instead of passcodes and facial recognition. Or even fingerprints. “Fingerprints are permanent so it can be faked but sweat is always changing, so if I somehow get your sweat sample, I won’t be able to unlock my phone a few hours later. “ , said Halámek.
So how does it work? If your sweat is always changing then how can you unlock your phone? The key is that the chemicals in sweat always change in a predictable way . When you get a new phone, you touch it with your finger several times a day, so the phone analyzes the chemicals in sweat at 2pm and 9pm. Over a period of time until enough data is available, the algorithm analyzes how your sweat changes, so the phone can recognize you. Of course, it is still possible to bypass the phone, but it will take more work.
Simmers, a doctoral candidate in biomedical engineering at the University of Cincinnati, says that scientists can induce sweating by placing a dime-sized electrode (usually made into a patch) on someone’s hand combines stimulating gel and running light stream. After stimulating a spot on the skin for a few minutes, that spot sweats for 24 hours. But sweating dilutes the gel, making it difficult to reach the skin, making it difficult to estimate the appropriate dose of gel and stimulate an exact amount of sweat. Also, when gel and sweat are mixed up, the sensor has more trouble analyzing sweat droplets.
To solve this problem, Simmers and his team developed a special membrane. This study was recently published in the journal Biomicrofluidics. Their membrane maintains nearly all of the gel’s original concentration, even after a day – meaning gel and sweat won’t mix. Simmers and colleagues are currently experimenting with the use of membranes on biosensors. Those who work with him include University of Cincinnati biologist Jason Heikenfeld, who founded a startup called Eccrine Systems that aims to build wearables that can accurately track sweat.
Similarly, the NextFlex foundation tested sweat patches to help track hydration and stress. “The patches are pretty much like big tapes, have multiple layers and stick to the human skin,” said Scott Miller, NextFlex’s director of strategic programs. This patch absorbs sweat and sends it to an internal sensor that measures the concentration of chemicals, then analyzes it and sends it to another system via wireless connection.
According to Miller, the US Air Force (Air Force) is very interested in this sticker. “The Department of Defense has seen benefits in monitoring hydration in soldiers and pilots, who are prone to dehydration and health effects during training and actual training. Equipment can help the coach or sergeant know who is tired, giving them a break is really helpful.” It is also suitable for sports athletes.
Another feature of this patch is measuring stress , or more precisely, tracking hormones like cortisol that are involved in sweat. Its biggest application is for pilots, aircraft engineers, drone operators or anyone in a factory.
In the past, blood was considered the gold standard for health monitoring, but testing is quite expensive and requires experienced people. Devices like the Fitbit can measure your heart rate and warn you when it’s high, but that’s all, not telling you why. Sweating, on the other hand, is painless but still contains different hormones, proteins, and ions to detect disease. In addition, sensors are being developed to measure blood sugar to detect diabetes, ethanol to know who has been drinking alcohol and many other applications. “There’s a lot going on in this area with different types of sensors, the capabilities of which are really amazing,” Simmers said.