The Rhisotope Project, a South African-based conservation initiative, is harnessing nuclear technology in the form of radioisotopes that are inserted into live rhino horns. This makes the horns easily detectable by existing nuclear security infrastructure at border posts across the world.

Poaching of rhino horns is rife in southern Africa. According to the Rhino conservation charity Save the Rhino, in the last decade 9,415 African rhinos have been lost to poaching.

Rhinos are poached for their horns, which are smuggled into Asia where they are highly prized for traditional and medicinal purposes.

“Every 20 hours in South Africa a rhino dies for its horn. These poached horns are then trafficked across the world and used for traditional medicines, or as status symbols,” explained Professor James Larkin, director of the radiation and health physics unit at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

“This has led to their horns currently being the most valuable false commodity in...