maximus otter
Recovering policeman
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- Aug 9, 2001
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In a first, scientists have revealed that animal and human DNA can be plucked straight out of thin air. The development heralds a promising new scientific technique with possible applications for ecology, forensics, and medicine.
Elizabeth Clare, senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), has provided the “first proof of concept demonstration that air samples are a viable source of DNA for the identification of species in the environment,” according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal PeerJ.
The setup for the DNA-grabbing experiment was a room containing “Colony Omega,” a group of naked mole-rats that have been studied and cared for by QMUL researchers for years. Naked mole-rats are fascinating animals for numerous reasons, but this colony also served as an ideal test subject for eDNA since they had lived in the same place for so long, allowing shed cells to build up in the environment.
To the team’s delight, the [apparatus] successfully picked up naked mole-rat eDNA from the air inside the rodents’ burrows, and within the room itself.
What’s more, the experiment also picked up human eDNA that had been shed by researchers and caretakers of the rodents over time. At first, Clare’s team was disappointed by the presence of the human DNA, viewing it as a contaminant of the animal study. Soon, however, the researchers realized that there could be enormous implications for both sets of samples.
“We see it as another tool in the toolbox of being able to monitor different forms of life,” Clare said. “We have camera traps in forests, and we have different types of nets and aquatic filtering for waterways. We're hoping this is a way we could sample different forms of terrestrial life.”
The human eDNA also offers tantalizing possibilities for fields such as forensic anthropology or forensic archaeology, which involve data collection from human remains. For instance, specialists who study ancient remains, such as mummies, might be able to collect eDNA from within a tomb without invasively opening it
https://www.vice.com/en/article/88awgb/scientists-collected-human-dna-from-the-air-in-a-breakthrough
maximus otter
Elizabeth Clare, senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), has provided the “first proof of concept demonstration that air samples are a viable source of DNA for the identification of species in the environment,” according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal PeerJ.
The setup for the DNA-grabbing experiment was a room containing “Colony Omega,” a group of naked mole-rats that have been studied and cared for by QMUL researchers for years. Naked mole-rats are fascinating animals for numerous reasons, but this colony also served as an ideal test subject for eDNA since they had lived in the same place for so long, allowing shed cells to build up in the environment.
To the team’s delight, the [apparatus] successfully picked up naked mole-rat eDNA from the air inside the rodents’ burrows, and within the room itself.
What’s more, the experiment also picked up human eDNA that had been shed by researchers and caretakers of the rodents over time. At first, Clare’s team was disappointed by the presence of the human DNA, viewing it as a contaminant of the animal study. Soon, however, the researchers realized that there could be enormous implications for both sets of samples.
“We see it as another tool in the toolbox of being able to monitor different forms of life,” Clare said. “We have camera traps in forests, and we have different types of nets and aquatic filtering for waterways. We're hoping this is a way we could sample different forms of terrestrial life.”
The human eDNA also offers tantalizing possibilities for fields such as forensic anthropology or forensic archaeology, which involve data collection from human remains. For instance, specialists who study ancient remains, such as mummies, might be able to collect eDNA from within a tomb without invasively opening it
https://www.vice.com/en/article/88awgb/scientists-collected-human-dna-from-the-air-in-a-breakthrough
maximus otter
