London: Scientists have developed a new computer tool that can predict how a person's facial features will change with age, an advance that will help search for people who have been missing for a long time.

Researchers from University of Bradford in the UK evolved a method that maps out the key features, such as the shape of the cheek, mouth and forehead, of a face at a certain age. The technique uses a method of predictive modelling and applies it to age progression.

The model is further strengthened by incorporating facial data from a large database of individuals at different ages thus teaching the machine how humans actually age.

Researchers used a method called de-ageing whereby they take an individual's picture and run their algorithm backwards to de-age that person to a younger age.

A key feature of the method is that it teaches the machine how humans age by feeding the algorithm facial feature data from a klarge database of individuals at various ages, said researchers of the study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.