Tap Water Leaves Forensic Clue In Hair

Tap Water Leaves Forensic Clue in Hair

Finding May Help Solve Murder Cases, Researchers Report
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Feb. 25, 2008

Your hair may reveal where in the U.S. you live. Tap water leaves
telltale clues about regions, new forensic research shows.

Scientists have developed a test that predicts where in the U.S. a
person lives based on traces of hydrogen and oxygen in hair samples.

"Police are already using this to reconstruct the possible origins of
unidentified murder victims," University of Utah biologist James
Ehleringer, PhD, says in a news release.

Ehleringer's team collected hair samples from barbershops in 65 U.S.
cities. They also collected samples of local tap water.

Levels of hydrogen and oxygen in the hair samples were in sync with
traces of hydrogen and oxygen in local tap water. "We have found
significant variations in hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in hair and
water that relate to where a person lives in the United States," says
Ehleringer.

The researchers considered the fact that some people may drink bottled
water which came from another part of the country, and the fact that
people don't just eat locally grown foods. The test still worked.

The test may also prove useful for gathering dietary information, note
Ehleringer and colleagues.

Their findings appear in the Feb. 26, 2008 edition of Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.

SOURCES:

Ehleringer, J. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb.
26, 2008; vol 105: pp 2788-2793.

News release, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

News release, University of Utah.

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
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