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Creatures, Myths & Legends

Loch Ness DNA tests to aid in hunt for Nessie

By T.K. Randall
May 23, 2018 · Comment icon 29 comments

Is there a monster lurking in the depths of Loch Ness ? Image Credit: CC 2.0 Dave Conner
Scientists are aiming to learn exactly what types of creatures are living in Scotland's enigmatic loch.
The study, which is being led by New Zealand scientist Professor Neil Gemmell, will use DNA sampling techniques to see if there is any scientific basis for the monster legend.

"I'm going into this thinking it's unlikely there is a monster, but I want to test that hypothesis," he said. "What we'll get is a really nice survey of the biodiversity of Loch Ness."

For the analysis, samples of water from the loch will be collected over a period of two weeks.
"There's absolutely no doubt that we will find new stuff, and that's very exciting," said Gemmell.

"While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness."

If there is a monster in the loch, it will have left traces such as skin, scales or faeces in the water.

"This DNA can be captured, sequenced and then used to identify that creature by comparing the sequence obtained to large databases of known genetic sequences from hundreds of thousands of different organisms," said Gemmell.

Source: The Guardian | Comments (29)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #20 Posted by Black Monk 6 years ago
No. Loch Ness is the largest lake in the UK by volume, containing more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. It is the fourth largest UK lake by area, and has a length of over 24 miles.
Comment icon #21 Posted by Baldylocks 6 years ago
Ah I see but still, if there was such thing we would know by now, like big foot etc.
Comment icon #22 Posted by Black Monk 6 years ago
Why would we have done? New species are discovered every year. Several new species were discovered in Loch Ness a few years ago.
Comment icon #23 Posted by Baldylocks 6 years ago
Seen the size of it? and exactly they are finding new stuff all the time. Small to big, yet cant find the so called Nessie? maybe its shy...
Comment icon #24 Posted by Still Waters 6 years ago
Update: No surprises there.
Comment icon #25 Posted by oldrover 6 years ago
Yes, much too small. 
Comment icon #26 Posted by Menhir 6 years ago
LOL
Comment icon #27 Posted by Menhir 6 years ago
And what was the size of those "new species discovered in Loch Ness a few years ago"-? It's relative to the size of the animal and the size of the environ where it lives.  It's much less likely to find a large animal in a relatively small environ, especially one that's pretty well constrained as is LN.  Add to that, Loch Ness doesn't have a food suppky big enough to spport a breeding population of Nessie-sized animals. A lot of "newly discovered species" are actually 'only' newly IDENTIFIED species or subspecies.  In other words, the animal was already known for many years but was not reco... [More]
Comment icon #28 Posted by Horta 6 years ago
This is how most new large species are now found. They are scientifically referred to as "crytpic" species (as opposed to "cryptids").
Comment icon #29 Posted by Skulduggery 6 years ago
“I need about tree fiddy.”


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