DNA sequencing in conditions close to combat

The US Army will be armed with portable DNA scanners

Dmitry Grigoriev, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

American companies Waltham and IntegenX have developed portable DNA scanners capable of performing analysis in 90 minutes. As reported (not in the OBS agency, but on the Defense News website, in the note US Special Operations Tests DNA Scanners – VM), these devices weighing from 54 to 90 kilograms were created primarily for the needs of the special services and the Pentagon. The scanners use special reagents that should be stored in refrigerators for no more than two months. If genetic material is placed in the device, the device will perform an express analysis and extract DNA from it.

After that, the results are compared with the database available to the army and special services. This allows you to quickly and accurately identify a person. The main advantage of the new devices is the speed of identification. Until now, the military had to send the taken genetic material to stationary laboratories in the United States, which took several weeks.

An American soldier takes a DNA sample from an Afghan
at the checkpoint in Ayub Khel, Khost province, Afghanistan, 2012

It is also known that the Pentagon plans to combine all portable DNA scanners into a single network with a common database, which will significantly increase the efficiency of work. Now the Special Forces Command (SOCOM) of the US Department of Defense is testing two models of such devices. Which of them will be adopted will be known before the end of the year.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.05.2015