People can be identified by their breathing patterns with 97% accuracy

Originally published by Emma Bryce at livescience.com, on June 13, 2025

Breathing patterns among humans are so unique that they can work as an identification tool, scientists report. They propose someday using breath as a way to diagnose disease.

 

A new study suggests that human breathing patterns differ from person to person and can even be used to identify individuals. (Image credit: Ippei Naoi via Getty Images)

Humans have unique breathing patterns that can be used to identify and distinguish individuals, a new study has found.

In the work, published Thursday (June 12) in the journal Current Biology, researchers could use an algorithm to identify individuals based on these distinct "respiratory fingerprints" nearly 97% of the time. The study authors also think the breathing profiles could reveal potential clues about each individual's mental and physical health.

Although it seems straightforward, breathing is a complex process governed by several brain regions. This led to the researchers' hypothesis: "Given that we all have unique brains, we hypothesize that this uniqueness will also be reflected in our breath," first study author Timna Soroka, a doctoral student at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, told Live Science in an email.

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