How DNA catches dogs in the act.

• Position: ANIMALS - Brief article

The managers of an apartment building in New York City got tired of tenants who didn't clean up after their dogs. So they turned to a biotech lab in Tennessee whose PooPrints DNA-detection kit matches dog poop to canine culprits--and their owners. To use the service, the building required dog-owning residents to submit a sample of their dog's DNA, taken by rubbing a cotton swab inside the pooch's mouth. Whenever dog doo is found in the building, samples are collected and sent to the lab to identify the poopertrator. More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the U.S. now use PooPrints, and some cities have started their own testing programs to curb sidewalk waste, including Naples, Italy, which fines...