13 min listen
Vacuuming DNA Out Of The Air
FromShort Wave
ratings:
Length:
13 minutes
Released:
Feb 22, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
A few years ago, ecologist Elizabeth Clare had an idea--what if she could study rare or endangered animals in the wild without ever having to see or capture them? What if she could learn about them by only pulling data out of thin air? It turns out, the air's not so thin. There are bits of DNA floating around us, and Elizabeth figured out how to collect it. She talks to guest host Lauren Sommer about testing her collection method in a zoo, how another science team simultaneous came up with and tested the same idea and how DNA taken from the environment could revolutionize the field of ecology.Read about the study here.
Released:
Feb 22, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Seen Any Nazi Uranium? These Researchers Want To Know: Nazi Germany tried to build a nuclear reactor. How evidence of that effort was almost lost to history. by Short Wave