Hum Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — When the McDonald's down from City Hall here was burglarized a few years ago, its managers decided they needed a new security system. It was just about that time that local police officers were offering something totally different that they hoped would stem a rising tide of robberies that occur mainly in the immigrant neighborhoods of this rough-and-tumble port city. The new system involved an employee-activated device that sprays a fine, barely visible mist laced with synthetic DNA to cover anyone in its path, including criminals, and simultaneously alerts the police to a crime in progress. The mist — visible only under ultraviolet light — carries DNA markers particular to the location, enabling the police to match the burglar with the place burgled. Now, a sign on the front door of the McDonald's prominently warns potential thieves of the spray's presence: "You Steal, You're Marked." The police acknowledge that they have yet to make an arrest based on the DNA mist, which was developed in Britain by two brothers, one a policeman and the other a chemist. But they credit its presence — and signs posted prominently warning of its use — for what they call a precipitous decline in crime rates (though they could not provide actual figures to back that up). But the goal is not so much capturing crooks as scaring them away. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted October 21, 2010 Member Share Posted October 21, 2010 The police acknowledge that they have yet to make an arrest based on the DNA mist, which was developed in Britain by two brothers, one a policeman and the other a chemist. But they credit its presence ? and signs posted prominently warning of its use ? for what they call a precipitous decline in crime rates (though they could not provide actual figures to back that up). It might be wishful thinking on there part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 How widespread is the spray? I wouldn't want to be covered in this crap just because I picked the wrong time to walk into a McDonalds......and also with the signs on the door wouldn't that just alert the thief to take a shower after he gets home and burn his clothes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 I didn't quite understand this. What if you wore a disposable plastic suit ? Can't the DNA goop be washed away ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhangm Supervisor Posted October 22, 2010 Supervisor Share Posted October 22, 2010 I didn't quite understand this. What if you wore a disposable plastic suit ? Can't the DNA goop be washed away ? DNA is a fairly resilient molecule, and the means to amplify a single fragment of DNA billions of times over is within the hands of any general biology student. Yes, you can wash most of it off, but I imagine this mist is pretty loaded with molecules. Lets say you get hit with a gram of DNA powder made of copies of a piece of DNA 80 base pairs long. A single molecule weighs about 25000 daltons, meaning that one gram contains 2.4x10^19 molecules. How many are left after you wash off 99.999999999% of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoredBozirini Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Will they spray the getaway car too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidM Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Will they spray the getaway car too? Only if they use the drive-up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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