Rhinoceros horn - but not from rhinos
Rhino horn is more expensive than gold - and it's looking like in 2015, more rhinoceroses than ever before will be killed for their horns. But a San Francisco-based startup has a solution: rhino horn from the lab.
Artificial rhino horn - finally
Matthew Markus did it: he produced three prototypes of artificial rhino horn. He had the idea 20 years ago, but at that time the technology was not developed enough - and way too expensive for a 20-year-old student.
Bright idea
As a data analyst, Markus had been working on how biological and genetic information could be copied on the computer digitally. So he asked himself, why not to copy the real biological material too - to produce rhino horn.
The recipe
George Bonaci is the lord of his laboratory; even company founder Markus doesn't have a say there. The synthetic rhino horn recipe is a secret - one that is slated for patent.
The real stuff
Markus and Bonaci were allowed to extract DNA samples from old horns in a museum. However, the horns from the 70s had only small amounts of DNA.
Genetic treasure
Bonaci had to multiply the DNA. The biochemist preserved the new, amplified DNA - one of their most precious treasures - in this tube in the laboratory refrigerator. Real rhino horn sells for 90,000 euros per kilo ($46,000 per pound).
The base
Rhino horns are made up primarily of keratin, a substance also present in hair and fingernails. Keratin is a protein, and there are 19 different varieties of it.
The helper
Bonaci maintains genetically modified yeast cultures in these petri dishes. These cultures produce keratin just like that present in natural rhino horn.
The process
Keratin is measured out and mixed with calcium hydroxide, other proteins, metals and minerals. The chemical reaction takes several hours.
The prototypes
The liquid dries into a powder, which makes up the different types of horn.
Genetic fingerprint
These patterns are the result of a spectrographic analysis. They compare the horn of a black rhino with horn that was created in the laboratory. The consistency between the shape of both graphs means the two materials are very similar - almost identical, in fact.
Vision and expectations
Markus and Bonaci want to produce life-sized artificial horns with the help of a 3D printer - they should look, smell and feel like authentic rhino horns. With the fake horns, the researchers hope to spoil the poaching business. The more artificial horns that are on the market, the lower the price of real rhino horns - that's the hope, at least.