Invisible DNA lurks everywhere in the environment

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https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/invisible-dna-lurks-everywhere-in-the-environment-and-were-on-the-verge-of-decoding-its-secrets?utm_term=032043BB-1CB4-4440-A845-2FF7DCCBD37B&lrh=1e7f7a9239bb44f191dc979b8fe5e634e587dfe020b84a653d2040468a8b342b&utm_campaign=368B3745-DDE0-4A69-A2E8-62503D85375D&utm_medium=email&utm_content=08FEA501-BBA4-4281-947E-E8496F791524&utm_source=SmartBrief

Invisible DNA lurks everywhere in the environment — and we're on the verge of decoding its secrets

February 22, 2025

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A treasure trove of environmental data:

The term "environmental DNA," or "eDNA," was coined in the 1980s in a study describing a technique for getting DNA from a soil sample. But it wasn't until the 2000s that fast and accurate DNA sequencing machines became widely available and affordable, making eDNA analysis practical.

"Researchers can spend months looking through that data to try to understand and identify what are the most interesting and more powerful stories and assets that are coming out of this data, but the AI could do it, you know, in seconds," Gold said.

In the last few decades, the ability to sequence DNA shed in the environment has advanced tremendously. Now, the challenge is figuring out what it all means.

(Image credit: Collage by Marilyn Perkins; Images from Qweek and I Like That One via Getty Images)