DNA tagging of criminals on the spot
I can’t wait for the nanobots to start fighting over molecule level tagging. Presumably, the coding of the DNA strands is protected by all sorts of interesting copyright law, too.
Bruce Schenier points out this new technology:
The system, called Sentry, works by fitting a box containing a powder spray above a doorway which, once primed, goes into alert mode if the door is opened.
It then sprays the powder when there is movement in the doorway again.
The aim is to catch a burglar in the act as stolen items are being removed.
The intruder is covered in the bright red powder, which glows under ultraviolet (UV) light and can only be removed with heavy scrubbing.
However, the harmless synthetic DNA contained in the powder sinks into the skin and takes several days, depending on the person’s metabolism, to work its way out.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/dna_identificat.html
