Forensic role for hand bacteria

The bacteria on our hands could be used in forensic identification, in the same way as DNA, say scientists.

Researchers in the US discovered that the "communities" of bacteria living on a person's skin are different for each individual.
The team took swabs from keyboards and were able to match the bacteria they found to the computer owners.
They describe their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Even on the hands of the most scrupulously clean people, about 150 different species of bacteria can be found.
And these numbers are not significantly affected by regular hand-washing.
Each person leaves behind a unique trail of bugs as they go about their daily lives. And this trail, scientists say, could be the basis of a new forensic tool.

Bacteria live on the hands of even the most scrupulously clean people