Our Personal History is Written on our Hair
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Do you know that a single strand of our hair can tell lots of things about us?
A recent study says that the tap water that we drink leaves a “signature” on our hair that can provide a history of where we’ve been or have lived. It seems that the chemical structure of water is influenced by its geographic location resulting in what is called “isotopic signature.” This signature differentiates water of different sources or from different locations. Since local water is the primary ingredient in most of the liquid that we drink, this isotopic signature is carried to our hair. These imprints on our hair can trace people’s past movements and may become an important tool in studying human history and police investigations.
This signature is also seen in our bones and nails. However, the hair has the advantage of maintaining its chemical make up as it grows longer.
In the field of forensics, the technique has already been used in the USA to confirm that a murder victim has traveled around the western states for over two years.
The technique is not without shortcomings. Signatures in the hair can be influenced by certain factors such as variations in individual metabolism and diet. More research is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the technique.
Source:
Comment on this blog...