LANL researchers are cataloguing the molecules in healthy human breath to create a baseline profile that could enable new non-invasive diagnostics.
Some details:
Method: Using tandem mass spectrometry, the team has identified 227 distinct compounds across 31 volunteers, narrowing to 48 common features that may define “healthy breath.”
Patterns: Certain metabolites correlated with sex and time of day; others trace back to environmental contaminants or microbiome interactions.
Partnerships: Collaborating with the University of New Mexico to expand sampling (including both breath and blood data).
Goal: Easy-to-use diagnostic tests where a patient might one day “just breathe” to screen for illness, fatigue, or impairment.
The approach echoes the original breathalyzer’s leap in the 1950s but applies it to a far wider range of health conditions.
