Your Breathing Pattern Is Like A Fingerprint

Short Wave

NPR

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Take a big inhale through your nose. Now, exhale. Breathing may seem simple, but it's controlled by a complex brain network. Each inhale gives the human brain information about the external world. And now, a new research paper in the journal Current Biology suggests that humans have unique breathing patterns, almost like nasal "fingerprints." Not only that: These unique breathing patterns seem to say a lot about people's physical and mental health.

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Transcript

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0:29.4	Hey, Shortwaiver is Regina Barbara here.
0:31.2	And Rachel Carlson.
0:32.2	With our biweekly science news roundup featuring the hosts of all things considered.
0:36.6	And today we have the great, the legendary Mary Louise Kelly. Way to lay on the pressure. Yeah, lots and lots of
0:44.1	pressure. Yeah, so I am told we are going to get to a story about how humans have unique
0:50.3	nasal fingerprints. Looking forward to that. Plus what's really in a dinosaur's stomach.
0:55.8	And an unexpected reason why droughts are getting worse.
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1:36.0	All right, Mary Louise, where do you want to start?
1:38.5	I got to go straight to the nasal fingerprints. What do you have?
1:41.8	Yeah, okay, Mary Louise, Gina, I want to both to take a big breath through your noses.
1:47.4	Yeah, let's breathe.
1:50.5	So that sniff you just took. Can we breathe out?
	...

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