Imagine getting sprayed with DNA when you walked into a private business. If that sounds crazy, you must not be living in the Netherlands, where spray-on DNA mist is an increasingly popular form of theft prevention. The system uses newly created synthetic DNA, and probably wouldn't work with 419-million year-old DNA.
The DNA sprayer goes above a private business's entrance, usually accompanied by an ominous sign that says something like, "You Steal, You’re Marked.”
The idea is that if someone is robbing a private business, an employee would activate the DNA sprayer without attracting the thief's attention, much like how you would active a silent alarm. The invisible spray permeates the air and settles onto the thief without his knowing it. The local police department is automatically alerted to a possible crime in progress.
WATCH VIDEO: DNA Reveals Dog HeritageA new DNA test solves the questions of what's in your mixed-breed dog. Kasey-Dee Gardner reports.
Visible only under ultraviolet light, the mist carries synthetic DNA markers unique to the location, allowing the police to match the thief with the place burgled. The DNA mist is imperceptible to those who come into contact with it. The manager of one business that now uses the technology told the New York Times, “You don’t smell it; you don’t see it; nobody knows it’s there.”
The technology is more about keeping potential thieves at bay, rather than actually capturing a burglar once the crime has been committed. At least, that's what one company behind DNA mist technology is saying.
Related Links:
- Are Stem Cells Immortal?
- VIDEO: Synthetic Life Becomes a Reality
- SLIDESHOW: Animal-Human Hyrbids Banned in Some States
- Dattos: Body Art Melds DNA, Computing
Donald van der Laan's company, the Rhine Group, distributes this DNA spray to Dutch businesses. He says the devices aren't supposed to capture crooks so much as they are supposed to scare away potential thieves. As he told the New York Times, “The whole thing is prevention, not about recovering stolen goods or capturing criminals."
The company claims to have helped drastically reduce the crime in the areas where the technology has been deployed. Before you get too excited, however, the company hasn't released any figures to prove that assertion. The local police department says it hasn't made any arrests using the DNA spray, even though several crimes have occurred.
Tags: DNA, Emergency Response, Synthetic Biology
comments ( )