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A Reddit article caused a sensation this week on the Internet, claiming that the famous "GamerGirl Bath Water", sold for $ 30 by social media star Belle Delphine, contained no human DNA. might not be his bath water at all. This was promptly challenged by other Reddit users and demystified: shipments of the said bath water had not even been sent yet. As the news of the non-scandal surfaced The edge In the offices, the journalists began looting the scientific office with questions, including: "Wait, can you test the water in the bathtub to check its DNA?"
"Yes, you can," said Helen Page, a forensic biologist. Page is a senior lecturer at the University of Teesside, UK, and has actually been studying how to recover very specific DNA samples in a bath.
It's a serious job. Recovering the DNA from a shower or bath can be helpful during the investigation of a sexual assault, especially if the victim does not want to undergo a complete forensic examination or take a shower after the procedure. 'aggression. Page has studied how sperm can be collected from mesh items specifically designed for shower drains and bath scrubs (also called sponges, loofahs, or ottomans). She discovered that DNA could be recovered from the stitches, scrunchies, and simply by wiping the walls, base, and drain of a bathtub.
Page has shown that it was possible to recover sperm DNA in the bath water, but the sperm is very different from other cells. "The structure of a sperm is pretty resistant, so to speak, to degrade in the same way that other cells would be," said Page. In Delphine's case, the most likely source of DNA would be skin that could come loose in the bathtub. Page's research was also conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. In the case of "GamerGirl Bathwater", without seeing the manufacturing process, there is really no way to know how much of Delphine's DNA was put in the water.
"It's hard to know how many cells would have been thrown out during the wash process," says Page. She points out that if Delphine washed slightly, fewer skin cells would come off than if she washed more carefully. "I doubt very much that there is a huge amount of DNA in a small flask of bath water," said Page.
The life of the DNA in the bath water is not clear either. The main threats to the integrity of DNA are heat, humidity and bacteria, which are in abundance in the tubes. Soap and other cleaning products may also play a role in the decomposition of DNA, but there is not enough scientific research to be sure.
Even if there is enough DNA in the water to test, and you have the proper laboratory equipment, and that it has not degraded, any analysis could tell a person whether or not the DNA is human, not which human being bathed in it. "You would not be able to say that it was his DNA if you did not have his DNA profile to compare." Said Page.
Of course, all this does is answer the question of whether people could – and not they should – test a DNA in a small jar containing $ 30 of bath water. The reason for its sale is however perfectly clear: as Patricia Hernandez underlines at Polygon, Delphine is famous for its performance-worthy stunts.
While Page points out that she would not spend her money on bath water, she understands why people may want to authenticate their purchase. "If I paid so much for the water that had been bathed by Person X," says Page, "then I would like the water in the bath to be bathed by Person X".
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