Already something of a mystery buster, the science behind DNA may soon add another proverbial trophy to its collection: the Loch Ness Monster. An ingenious new approach to 'hunting' the famed creature said to lurk in the Scottish lake will soon be underway in the form of a research project that will collect water from Loch Ness and then produce a survey of its aquatic denizens via their DNA. The effort is spearheaded by scientist Neil Gemmell of New Zealand, who explained to a local newspaper that "whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine."
The project which has been in a year in the making and boasts a team of experts from around the world, will see numerous water samples taken from Loch Ness over the course of two weeks in June. The haul will subsequently be shipped to facilities in four different countries where the genetic materials contained in the water will be compared to known genomes of countless species already cataloged by scientists. Researchers should then have a comprehensive catalog of Loch Ness creatures with which to compare and contrast to other sites to see if there is something out of the ordinary about the location.
More on this promising project at the Coast to Coast AM website.