US students developing anti-date rape nail polish

Engineering students in the US are developing a nail polish that can detect date rape drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB.

The four students at North Carolina University have founded Undercover Colours, and are currently working on a polish that will change colour when it comes into contact with the drugs. Women wearing the polish can stir their drink with a finger, and a colour change would indicate a spiked drink.

The students cited the high levels of sexual assault in the US (18% of US women, they report, will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime) as the motivation behind the invention, and said, “Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime.”

Co-founder of Undercover Colours Ankesh Madan told US site Higher Education Works, “We wanted to focus on preventative solutions, especially those that could be integrated into products that women already use.”