Scientists at Queen Mary University have successfully experimented with extracting DNA from humans and animals. In this careful process, since DNA is extracted from the surrounding air and atmosphere, it is called environmental DNA or EDNA for short.
Dr. Elizabeth Claire, a molecular ecologist at the university, said that in this way we can derive DNA from water, soil and other places, which has many uses. According to him, DNA testing in any pond or river section can determine the types of fish present there.
Although DNA of different species has been extracted from soil and water before, EDNA was not tested for air. In this regard, Queen Mary University’s research is the first of its kind in the world.
For this, they kept a kind of hairless blind mice (naked mole rats) in a room-like farm for a year, but scientists continued to travel in it. There were also air filters from which air samples were collected and air samples were also taken from inside the main room. Since these rats live in long burrows, air was also collected from a filter attached to one burrow.
Interestingly, the DNA of the rats was noted in the air of the tunnel-like bill and in the air of the room itself and thus the first successful experiment of extracting DNA from the air was reported in the world.
Unexpectedly, human DNA was also seen in the air and this is a wonderful thing. Experts used to call it a kind of pollution, but in fact it is also a new era of research.
But just think that if human DNA is extracted from a closed room, the investigation of crime and events will find a new direction. This will also help in revealing the secrets of the past. In this way, identification of ancient DNA and other aspects will also help in archeology and anthropology.
Dr. Elizabeth had previously worked extensively on the identification and classification of DNA in ponds and ponds. The same experiment led them to release DNA from the air. To do this, they created special filters and set up a DNA collection system.
