Its venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, has provided funding for San Francisco-based beauty firm, Skincential Sciences, according to documents obtained by The Intercept.
Skincential's consumer brand, Clearista, provides 'skin resurfacing' products designed to make people look more 'youthful', according to its website.
The CIA is investing in beauty products that collect people's DNA. Its venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, has provided funding for San Francisco-based beauty firm, Skincential Sciences, according to documents obtained by The Intercept. Skincential's consumer brand, Clearista, provides 'skin resurfacing' products
It endorsed by the likes of Oprah and a number of beauty bloggers on YouTube.
The product line is based around a patented-technology that claims to painlessly remove a thin layer of skin cells from the face to smooth it out.
The CIA is interested in this technology because that thin layer of skin contains biomarkers that can be used for DNA collection.
It claims to only need a splash of water, a special detergent, and a couple of against the skin,
This will help the authorities more easily get data about someone's unique biological make up.
If they can use the technique to get genetic information more quickly, it could help them tracked down people faster in investigations.
The product line is based around a patented-technology that claims to painlessly remove a thin layer of skin cells from the face to smooth it out. The CIA is interested in this technology because that thin layer of skin contains biomarkers that can be used for DNA collection. Pictued are before and after photos of its effect
'I can't tell you how everyone works with In-Q-Tel, but they are very interested in doing things that are pure science,' Russ Lebovitz, the CEO of Skincential, told The Intercept.
'If there's something beneath the surface, that's not part of our relationship and I'm not directly aware. They're interested here in something that can get easy access to biomarkers.'
In-Q-Tel was founded in 1999 by former CIA director George Tenet. It's funding of Skincential has long been kept quiet.
It files required annual reports, but it keeps details of its other activities — such as its ties with cosmetic companies — largely a secret.
Besides skin care products, the firm also invests in computer and satellite technology.
Clearista itself was first developed as a tool for medical diagnostics, in detecting diseases such as skin cancer, before moving towards cosmetics.
CSI CAN CATCH CRIMINALS BY TRACKING THEIR 'MICROBIAL CLOUD'
Research shows that each of us is surrounded by a cloud of invisible bacteria
Forget fingerprints. The key to your identity lies in your microbial cloud.
Research shows that each of us is surrounded by a cloud of invisible bacteria.
By sampling this microbial mist, it is possible to tell whether it has been emitted by a man or a woman – and even who it belongs to.
The discovery could be used by forensic scientists to place a suspect at a crime scene. It could also help doctors understand how infections spread.
But in the short-term, the thought that we are each enveloped in millions of bugs is likely to terrify hygiene obsessives.
Researcher James Meadow said: ‘You are standing in another person’s microbial cloud the moment you shake hands.’
Dr Meadow asked 11 men and women to sit in a small, sterile room, one at a time, for up to four hours.
Each volunteer was given clean clothing to wear and sat on a plastic chair that had been disinfected.
But as time went on, it became clear they were emitting millions and millions of bugs.
Some came from their breath, others from their skin or perhaps even their sweat or hair.
Analysis of bugs caught on Petri dishes left lying in the chamber and samples of air filtered out of it, showed the volunteers carried different combinations of germs.
And, in many cases, it was possible to identify who was sitting in the chamber by their microbiome, or the combination of bacteria present.
Culled from Mail Online
