Fear detector may sniff out terrorists, British scientists say

[ag337]

Fear detector may sniff out terrorists, British scientists say

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/11/02/2009-11-02_fear_detector_may.html#ixzz0VjFD4va7


A trickle of sweat may trigger the alarm on future terrorist attacks.

British scientists are developing a fear detector that can sniff out anxious terrorists, London’s Daily Mail reported Monday, as well as drug smugglers and criminals on the run.

The technology will rely on recognizing a pheromone - or scent signal - produced in sweat when a person is scared, the paper said.

"The challenge lies in the characterization and identification of the specific chemical that gives away the signature of human fear, especially the fear in relation to criminal acts," research team leader Prof. Tong Tun told The Engineer magazine, according to the Mail.

Evidence that the smell of fear is real was uncovered by U.S. scientists last year who studied the underarm secretions of 20 terrified novice skydivers.

Scientists at City University London now hope to develop security sensor systems that can detect the human fear pheromone. The project will look at potential obstacles to reliable detection, such as the effects of perfume.

Although the research is at an early stage, the aim is to develop a prototype device in the next two to three years.

"I do not see any particular reason why similar sensor techniques cannot be expanded to identify human smells by race, age or gender to build a profile of a criminal during or after an incident," Tun said.

In the U.S. study, scientists at Long Island’s Stony Brook University used taped absorbent pads to soak up sweat from the skydivers' armpits just before they made their first tandem jump.

Other volunteers, who were not told the true nature of the experiment, were later asked to sniff the samples through a nebuliser. At the same time, their brains were scanned.

The study showed that the scent of sweat from the scared skydivers triggered a heightened response in brain regions associated with fear.

But sweat samples taken from the skydivers as they ran on a treadmill - with their feet safely on the ground - did not have the same effect.

Animals are known to produce 'alarm pheromones' to alert each other to danger.

[Americanhero1]

We I see it i'll believe it

[New Yorker]

The major flaw in this concept is the assumption that these are normal people that have normal responses, again our "leaders" fail to know the enemy, will a fear detector work on those bug eyed insane murderous muslim lunatics? They're not feeling fear, they're INSANE.

[ag337]

The major flaw in this concept is the assumption that these are normal people that have normal responses, again our "leaders" fail to know the enemy, will a fear detector work on those bug eyed insane murderous muslim lunatics? They're not feeling fear, they're INSANE.

New Yorker,
You are right.....
You hit on the major flaw with this theory.
They are abnormal and insane, therefore, they do not have the typical reactions to situations that any of us would...

[New Yorker]

They're going to waste their time pulling people that are afraid of flying out of line when they should be PROFILING and pulling out anybody with a tan, a arabic accent, muslim name, etc. Idiots, political correctness is going to bring us the next 9-11, and probably 10 fold worse.

[Cato]

What rubbish. Their minds are on the virgins.

[Spiraling Leopard]

Pathetic. They have dogs and bees to smell explosives. Besides, all muslims are potential terrorists, sweat or no sweat.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

They're going to waste their time pulling people that are afraid of flying out of line when they should be PROFILING and pulling out anybody with a tan, a arabic accent, muslim name, etc. Idiots, political correctness

Yes, exactly.