Undercover Colors nail polish could help prevent date rapes

A CDC study found 18 percent of American women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. A new start-up company is hoping to lower that number through science.

Undercover Colors is a fingernail polish start-up company created by a group of researchers at North Carolina State University. They claim their new product can detect certain date rape drugs.

The way Undercover Colors nail polish works is simple, according to the company's Facebook page. Once applied to your fingernail, all you have to do is swirl your finger in your drink. If the polish detects any one of a number of date rape drugs like Rohypnol, Xanax or GHB, it will turn a different color.

The company says the color-changing nail polish alerts women in time to escape a dangerous situation. The company says it hopes to "make potential perpetrators afraid to spike a woman's drink because there's now a risk that they can get caught."

Engadget reports the company is still in the development and fundraising phase. There's no word on when the product will be made available to the public, though the company did recently receive a $100,000 donation from a single investor.