That Danny!
Technology jumping the faeces species barrier…
The Israeli suburb of Petah Tikvah is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward and punish pet owners. Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikvah, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA. The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.(source)
This is a fascinating story, not just for those who have walked Petah Tikvah’s dog-pooped pavements (and I have), but also if you consider that DNA identification has grown cheaper and more accessible, and is on the verge of leaping from the confines of sci-fi and forensic science into mainstream applications.
And, as with medicine, subtle changes in our perception of technology can readily start with animals.
The process of DNA matching is still fairly labour intensive, but give it a few years and the technology will become faster, cheaper and more accessible. Farmers will register their ownership of herds through DNA profiling of individual animals, pets will all be profiled and entered into a national database. Rare species specimens will only be sold subject to DNA typing, and pet passports would no longer be needed for travel with your pooch.
Then, quite naturally, after corpses and animals would come humans: no doubt after countless moral debates, protests and disagreements – but by that time, the technology would be so accessible, there would be no question of it going away.
Initially DNA would be used mostly for ID purposes – our knowledge of genetics and its medical use are still in their infancy – but by the time medicine and genetic engineering has caught up, the technology to sample you as you walk down the street or touch a screen would have been here for a while.
And if you are a doom monger, the following is for you:
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