- DNA scanners are devices used in the Beast Era portion of the Generation One continuity family
With the rise of the Maximals and Predacons, DNA scanners were created to allow the Transformers to take the forms of organic creatures.
Fiction[]
Beast Wars[]
DNA scanners appeared to be standard technology on starships, as both the Maximals and Predacons used them to scan for local lifeforms after crashing on Ancient Earth. The scanners were also able to read the DNA of fossils, such as long extinct dinosaurs. Beast Wars (Part 1)
Stasis pods were also equipped with DNA scanners, but their range was more limited than ship based sensors. The Spark
The Energon surge that activated the Planet Buster caused the orbiting stasis pods to degrade back into the atmosphere and crash. Many of the pods' DNA scanners were damaged, and in two cases merged two animal lifeforms together, creating the Fuzors. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)
Beast Machines[]
While probing Nightscream to dig out his memories, Rattrap was surprised to find a built-in DNA scanner. Nightscream explained (with the use of the word "duh") that "everybody's got a built-in scanner for beast modes" and that stasis pods were abandoned in the Quantum Cycle Upgrade, which apparently occurred while Primal, Megatron and their respective teams were absent during the Beast Wars. Survivor Nightscream did not clarify whether other scanners (e.g.: for vehicle modes) were also installed, nor the reasoning behind fitting all of Cybertron's citizens with DNA scanners.
Rattrap later combined a spark extractor with an old DNA scanner, hoping to use it to reformat the Vehicons into Maximals, though Rattrap and Optimus Primal had yet to figure out how to reformat them without the Oracle. Blackarachnia later stole this device and used it to reformat Jetstorm into Silverbolt. In Darkest Knight