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cold case

Your sweat could get you convicted for murder

Okay, maybe not you, but researchers think sweat could be the new frontier in forensic analysis.

Sweat is an effective way to identify and differentiate suspects who leave their mark at a crime scene, research published in Analytical Chemistry found.

Used in tandem with traditional fingerprint methods that help track down and match individuals, sweat could reveal even more details about a suspect that would help create a more specific profile, reports The Verge. People are always producing sweat, said one researcher, so it would be easier to find a sweat sample than a full and identifiable fingerprint.

The chemicals in sweat can reveal a lot about a person, like health conditions, gender, and age — invaluable information to forensic analysts. The problem is, sweat is always changing, and the chemical makeup varies depending on a person's current state. That's why researchers think it could be an important part of a "forensic toolbox," analyzed along with other samples. However, the constant flux also means that sweat samples would be much more difficult to fake than fingerprints, because the chemical patterns are unique to each person but extremely tough to replicate. Read more at The Verge.