Study in Psyshology: Catching Criminals by Smell

The University of Aveiro, in Portugal, is developing a studying about the impact of olfaction in forensic investigations. 

Imagine that you could identify criminals using only your sense of smell. Fantasy? No, currently this is an idea that has been taking shape and could become a turning point in criminal investigations.

This research was born in the center of PsyLab, at the University of Aveiro, and wanted to combine two principles: Fear and Smell, trying to create a possible application in forensic context. 

The process had two distinct phases: Initially tests were made for the body odor that had the participation of many volunteer. After this, tests the samples are frozen in the laboratory of Psychology and only thawed when the second phase begin. In this secon phase, the 80 volunteers are split into two groups that will view neutral films or crime films, with a duration of one minute each. At the end of this  process are presented to volunteers 5 vials with different smells and asked them to identify the smells associated with the crimes. 

The project is still fresh and with a long way ahead, although it promises to revolutionize the forensic context.