Biowell Technology Inc (
The company fuses organic DNA into the ink on labels and sells them to manufacturers to place on genuine products. Included in the kits are cotton swabs which mix with a chemical on the labels and can immediately tell investigators or consumers whether the product is real or fake.
"Obviously companies must control the labels," said David Silver, special assistant at Biowell.
The company claims the labels are copy proof due to the DNA combined with the ink used in printing. Executives at the company say it would be nearly impossible to extract the DNA strand and figure out its make up since the company developed its own primer to hold the DNA and keep it "alive" and the DNA itself is in such a small concentration it would be extremely difficult to find.
"Even if someone were able to locate the DNA, they would not be able to extract it because they don't know what kind of primer was used. Without the correct primer, the DNA would `die,'" said U.K. Singha, a researcher at Biowell.
Counterfeit goods come in many forms beyond music and video CDs. In their most deadly form, fake aircraft parts and pharmaceuticals have found their way onto world markets.
"Although very stringent controls exist for the supply of spare aircraft parts, there have been a number of incidents of aeroplane crashes caused by fake components. ... The Far East is commonly pinpointed by the US aviation industry as the problem area," according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Last week, US authorities confiscated thousands of bogus airplane parts from Panaviation, an Italian company accused of selling up to 10,000 counterfeit parts to companies in the US, MSNBC reported on its Web site.
"We are looking at parts that are very critical to flight safety -- hydraulic fittings, brakes, flaps, cockpit instruments and landing gear," MSNBC quoted aviation journalist Tim Van Beveren as saying.
"People formerly involved in the drug business have changed over to be brokers for aviation parts. The margins of profit are the same," he added.
In the case of bogus pharmaceuticals, some patients pay for bogus drugs that are completely ineffective in treating their diseases and sometimes contain chemicals hazardous to health. The World Health Organization says people die every day from using counterfeit drugs.
The Biowell labels look like price tag labels commonly found on goods in a department store, but have six levels of security, including the DNA, florescent markings and micro-printing used to make the labels difficult to reproduce in appearance. If all other safety features fail, the DNA will still offer an easy source of detection for someone seeking to separate genuine products from fakes, according to Biowell.
The company has so far been able to mix its DNA and primer in 20 different materials, including ink, paper, paint, ceramics and plastic, and other materials might work, but "you have to test and see," according to Johnson Chen (詹淳勝), another researcher at Biowell. The firm is willing to work with companies on developing new ways to use its DNA protection process.
So far, Biowell's customers include firms from the software, information technology and components industries, as well as the spirits industry, since copying bottles and packaging on expensive wines and whiskeys has become big business around the world.
Biowell plans to find agents to help it develop markets around the world for its products, as it wishes to remain a pure research organization, according to company chairman Sheu Jen-jei (
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique