What is the name of your organization?
Nucleic Sensing Systems
What is the name of your solution?
NS2
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Continuous, autonomous biosensor for quantifying eDNA and eRNA based on ddPCR technology
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
St Paul, MN, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
USA
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The unidentified spread of diseases, pathogens, and harmful organisms is among the most central global concerns of public health experts, water resource managers, and aquaculture producers. Government agencies and businesses spend millions of dollars each year detecting harmful organisms and pathogens to avoid billions in potential economic losses. However, current detection methods are labor-intensive, limit sampling, and result in a time lag between sample and answer, producing patchy information and limiting mitigative action.
What is your solution?
NS2's biosensor is the world’s only continuous-flow biological molecule detection machine. It acts like a “smoke alarm,” autonomously sampling and analyzing the presence and abundance of environmental DNA (eDNA), RNA, and biological molecules in the field. Doing so eliminates the lag time between sample and answer and the need for human labor. Continuously sampling, the Tracker provides previously unattainable data, empowering automation processes in wastewater treatment and aquaculture while eliminating the need for offsite laboratories.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Humanity relies on our water resources for the food we eat and the air we breathe. However, our oceans face a changing climate, overfishing, pollution, invasive species, and increased pressures associated with expanding aquaculture. Currently, we use antiquated, inefficient, and time-consuming methods to understand the ocean's changing biology and ecosystems. Society requires a robust monitoring network of not only the physical and chemical properties of our oceans but also its biology. Our solution is the world's first continuous sampling, autonomous, digital droplet PCR machine capable of monitoring the world's water resources' biological health by measuring environmental DNA. Doing so will empower our oceans' adaptive and timely management, which we desperately need to protect human health and the environment.