Two analysis groups independently used vacuums to measure biodiversity

Enlarge (credit score: Surapong Thammabuht / EyeEm)

Simply because the pandemic hit, Christina Islas Lynggaard—a postdoc researcher on the College of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute—sat in her residence surrounded by vacuums and filters. She examined them, ultimately touchdown on a water vacuum, which was, for her functions, fairly good. The remaining didn’t fairly make the lower—that they had good suction, however the second you set a filter in them, it messed with their energy provides. “It simply dies, after which the motor involves overheat, and it was very tough,” Lynggaard mentioned.

All this testing was performed for an fascinating case, one which appears apparent in hindsight however may have precious ecological purposes. Briefly, Lynggaard and different researchers on her staff had been in search of a solution to acquire environmental DNA (eDNA) from the air to measure biodiversity or search for the presence of uncommon or invasive species.

Out of skinny air

“We had no thought the easiest way to gather DNA from air,” Kristine Bohmann informed Ars. Bohmann is an affiliate professor on the Globe Institute and one of many researchers concerned within the effort.