Synthetic DNA Promises to Halt Theft Problem

ToolWatch Corp., Englewood, Colo., is helping Mobil Producing Nigeria, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp., stop asset losses in its warehouse that had totaled up to $50,000 a month. Hoping to secure its warehouse stock and assets, which have a total worth of more than $100 million, the company purchased ToolWatch’s secondary tool tracking method, a forensic tagging fluid called Synthetic DNA. The tagging system acts as a theft deterrent by permanently identifying items with the owner’s mark, identifiable via using a scanning device. The chemical can even be read in objects that have been melted down.