Also known as the "rape drug", GHB is an odourless, colourless and tasteless liquid chemical compound. These properties have unfortunately made it well known, in particular, for its role in sexual assaults. Sometimes used for recreational ends, the drug is a powerful sedative, an anabolic stimulant, an aphrodisiac, and is also responsible for memory loss. The drug's properties also have another problem - that of traceability.
The number of assaults where GHB has been used cannot be precisely calculated as it is only detectable for 30 to 50 minutes in blood and urine after ingestion. Thus, GHB disappears from the body even before its effects have worn off. It is, therefore, impossible for victims and police services to formally testify that the victim was drugged with G.
To date, the only effective solution is to monitor the contents of your glass, at all times. However, Ankesh Madan, Stephen Grey, Tasso Von Windheim and Tyler Confrey-Maloney, four students at the University of North Carolina, have developed a simple detection tool, within easy reach of all women: nail varnish.
"Undercovered Colours", the young start-up created by these students, has developed a nail varnish that changes colour in presence of "rape drugs", including GHB, Xanax and Rohypnol. Discreetly dipping your finger into your glass could reduce the number of rapes facilitated by this type of chemical compound.
Having received a prize of 6,500 dollars at the Lulu eGames, an entrepreneurship contest for North Carolina students, Undercovered Colours is currently looking for donations to sell its nail varnish. In the meantime, the four students are already working on new products, with the aim of preventing sexual assaults on women.
Another company is also looking for financing for its detector of drugs in liquids. The "pd.id" is a tiny instrument that is based on measures of the drink's luminosity, conductivity and temperature. By comparing the collected data with a database, it lights a green or red LED to indicate if the glass's composition has been changed, during an absence for example. It also determines the exact presence of certain drugs such as GHB.
Requiring a budget of 50,000 dollars to start commercialising the product in Spring 2015, the company has launched a crowd funding campaign on the site Indiegogo.
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