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78 Comments
- Jhonka, on 01/23/2009, -0/+29I love how the description is the entire article...
- zubi, on 01/23/2009, -23/+45Such amazing technology for something so mundane. Way to go Amurica.
- doublefelix, on 01/23/2009, -0/+20Are you one of those guys with a DNA Sequencer in your Mom's basement?
- bigdoof, on 01/23/2009, -6/+20You're under the misconception that DNA synthesis is either difficult or expensive. It's a novel use for an otherwise common process. But don't let that stop you from slamming the US.
- Jhonka, on 01/23/2009, -1/+12Yeah, us Amuricans are so stupid!....
- ThatGeek, on 01/23/2009, -2/+11never tell me the odds!
- Kabloink, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9It's probably to make sure they have enough to give to the VIPs.
- Banichi, on 01/23/2009, -4/+11A better question is why they need 120 footballs for one game? WTF?
- jaspr180, on 01/23/2009, -0/+7I believe Florida is the device your searching for.
- IneedaSN, on 01/23/2009, -5/+11so what...in order to prove that this collectible football that you bought on ebay is real. You need to conduct some sort of DNA extraction...
what a complete utter waste....NFL FAIL - Jhiaxuz, on 01/23/2009, -7/+13They should focus on making Replicators which can make me free sluts instead.
- hidromatic, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6i agree. I love Football, but, NFL fanatics are crazy and extremist and brainwashed... sad... NFL FAIL HARDER.
- utp216, on 01/23/2009, -3/+7What does a ball used during the Super Bowl fetch on the collectibles market? I suppose it's quite alot since they are going through this process to try to stop counterfeiting.
- twiztidsinz, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4The phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." comes to mind
- Restrikted, on 01/23/2009, -2/+5I like football.
- boardthis, on 01/24/2009, -0/+3why are u getting burried? this is the exact reason why they are putting synthetic DNA in SB footballs.
- fajitamelt, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3Brilliant.
- decker12, on 01/23/2009, -2/+5Somebody's gonna need some lotion, a paper towel tube, and a pound of chipped pastrami if they intend on marking 120 footballs with DNA.
Yeah, I know, it says synthetic. See, I was trying to be funny by including a masturbation reference. - MurphyWatson, on 01/23/2009, -1/+3I think they're really just trying to make the football more valuable by making it more unique, I don't think their first purpose was to prevent counterfeiting.
- TheScreamer, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2dvdjon will have it cracked by Monday.
- newman8r, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2haha.... I have my own house AND a crappy old DNA sequencer. I don't have a basement though so you're only 1/3 right
wanna counterfeit some footballs? - likwidfuzion, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2I like turtles.
- Poweroft, on 01/23/2009, -1/+3Now where is that rats ass I could give.
- 7tenths, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2they aren't made with pigskin anymore -.-
- iEATcatFOOD, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Also, synthetic DNA isn't that amazing
- whatthefu, on 01/23/2009, -0/+2Yeah, because it has one use and one use only.
- wesw02, on 01/24/2009, -0/+21-in-33 million is hardly astronomical. Relatively speaking it is extermely unlikely, but still not astronomical.
1 in a googolplex is astronomical. - eedoc, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2It would actually be relatively easy to counterfeit these if you had access to one. If you can get just a couple of strands of the DNA, then you can run them through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to make a virtually unlimited number of copies. The equipment to do this exists in almost any biology lab, in fact I've done this process in both junior high and college. Once you've done that, counterfeiting is only as hard as counterfeiting the original football. The best way to counter this is to have the DNA strands matched to a serial number, and keep track of which football is where. If one serial number is noticed in more than one location, then you "revoke" the certification for that serial number. This can be done just as easily without the DNA, in fact the DNA is basically just a gimmick to make people less likely to try to counterfeit the balls. Another quick note about the "33 million" number. 33 million is 2^25, or 4^12.5, which implies that they somehow have a 12.5 base length. whatever way you look at it, this is a great way to discourage those who don't know much about DNA, but almost any bio-engineer could counterfeit this easily.
- rightbrainnow, on 01/23/2009, -1/+3Pretty cool, but seems a bit excessive.
- d3dm, on 01/24/2009, -0/+2Oh sure, go ahead and poke fun at him now, but once he wires up his sister's Barbie to that DNA Sequencer and a naked Kelly LeBrock walks out of his steamy bathroom wanting to be naughty, he'll get the last laugh.
- coreydoucorey, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1Quite doubtful. I was waiting for this for a very long time... http://manxl.org
- inactive, on 01/25/2009, -0/+1hahaha nice
- ajt2009, on 01/23/2009, -2/+3What a waste of money..
- hidromatic, on 01/23/2009, -0/+1i also like football.
- DoctorAwkward, on 01/23/2009, -0/+1What is the over/under on time it takes for a story about someone counterfeiting one of these? Can I place that on sportsbook or beted?
- inactive, on 01/24/2009, -1/+2excuse me sir but ***** YOU!!!
- Jhonka, on 01/23/2009, -1/+2Sure, but first you'd have to get the DNA... Meaning you would already have the football in question...
- roxgod666, on 01/23/2009, -1/+2Just make sure you don't buy the one Kurt Warner touched.
- newman8r, on 01/23/2009, -1/+2I assume it would all be denatured and lost in the manufacturing process
- docbob84, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1DNA data storage would be nice because, since it's base 4 (quaternary?) and the potential to be base 6 or 8 with synthetics instead of binary, you could get much more information per byte. I read somewhere that every word of everything ever written in any language could be stored in 1 gram of DNA.
- inactive, on 01/25/2009, -0/+1Who the ***** cares how much money it cost? It was privately funded by a private company.
- dball48, on 01/23/2009, -1/+2tl;dr
- inactive, on 01/26/2009, -0/+1maybe so they can sell 120 balls.
- docbob84, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1Yeah, when they say DNA synthesizing isn't that big a deal, they don't mean the average Joe has two machines in their garage, but they don't mean there's only one in every city of more than 10,000 people either. My freshman college micro classes had us replicating DNA strands, really all you need are access to a micro supply catalog and a couple hundred bucks for the nucleotides and enzymes. With access to the right liquids for temperature control, a molecular biologist worth their salt could do rudimentary PCR on a stovetop in their kitchen. Enough to duplicate any strand of DNA given to them, anyway.
- inactive, on 01/25/2009, -0/+1"Keep It Simple Stupid."
- docbob84, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1It corresponds to about 12-13 base pairs as well. (4^12 give or take) Wouldn't be hard to figure out that short of a code.
- Aooogah, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1I like swords.
- merreborn, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1My thoughts exactly. What's the point of a method of proving authenticity like this, when it's virtually impossible for anyone to verify? The only benefit I can come up with is the publicity it's generated.
You'll note that the vast majority of the security mechanisms on currency are trivially verified by laymen. Does it have a hologram? Does it have a watermark? Does it have microprint? The only equipment you need to verify these things is a pair of eyes. - modix, on 01/24/2009, -0/+1I'm thinking it's a mix of different chains, or a really long sequence that's too long for your average oligo synthesis. Or special tags on the chains that are more difficult to attach. Perhaps quencher dyes or something weird that couldn't be done by the average lab.
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