Christian Bendix News Today

Environmental DNA has changed the way conservationists monitor biodiversity. By sequencing the genetic material found in water and soil samples, scientists can study entire ecosystems or detect rare animals too elusive to track using traditional methods. Teams have used environmental DNA, or eDNA, to inventory everything from viruses and bacteria to plants and animals, from […]

The new method, tested at two zoos, could revolutionize the study of biodiversity in the wild

The air around us carries detectable traces of animals living in our midst, scientists have found, and the discovery stands to revolutionize the way researchers monitor and track populations of vulnerable or endangered species.

A new technique that involves vacuuming animal DNA from the air can ID nearby species. It could help map threatened and invasive species.

Two new studies collected air samples from zoos and demonstrated the ability to identify a range of animals living there from their airborne DNA. This could eventually be used as a non-invasive way to track biodiversity.

The new method, tested at two zoos, could revolutionize the study of biodiversity in the wild

Environmental DNA analysis has now been shown to be effective for air samples as well.