One day - soon - a machine will sniff out your illness

New York

BLINDFOLDED, would you know the smell of your mum, a lover or a co-worker - not the smells of their colognes or laundry detergents they use, but the smells of them?

Each of us has a unique "odourprint" made up of thousands of organic compounds. These molecules offer a picture of who we are, revealing age, genetics, lifestyle, hometown, and even metabolic processes that underlie our health.