Blog: Scanning for lifeforms: The aquatic eDNAtlas project
All animals leave traces of genetic material in their environment, and for those organisms living in water, this means their DNA is constantly being shed into the rivers or lakes where they reside. Like something out of Star Trek, scientists can essentially scan for lifeforms by filtering this environmental DNA (eDNA) out of the water and utilizing molecular techniques to either detect a certain species or to assess the composition of the entire aquatic community.