Loch Ness monster hunt using environmental DNA to (hopefully) sort myth from science
Reported sightings of the Loch Ness monster go back to the Dark Ages, but now our Super Natural History team is using the 21st-century technology of environmental DNA to survey all life in the famous Scottish lake. Obviously, the hook here is that if Nessie is present in the deep, dark and mysterious waters of Loch Ness then we might find DNA sequences that will help us figure out its biological basis. Loch Ness expert, Adrian Shine, had dredged the deep lake many times and is now helping to sample DNA traces of life. Several other colleagues all agreed to join the project and the team grew as we realised the Loch Ness monster hunt would describe the biodiversity of the lake in unprecedented fashion, add information about the movements of migratory fish species such as salmon, eels and lamprey, and be a hell of a science communication platform.
Nasa asked to help in the search for Loch Ness Monster as live webcams set up
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