Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material obtained directly from environmental samples such as water, soil, air, or sediments, without isolating target organisms. It consists of extracellular DNA and cellular fragments shed through excretion, secretion, reproduction, or decomposition. eDNA-based methods typically involve sample collection, DNA extraction, amplification of taxonomically informative genetic markers (e.g., mitochondrial or ribosomal loci), and high-throughput sequencing or qPCR for detection and quantification. This topic encompasses methodological optimization, degradation kinetics, transport dynamics, contamination control, and bioinformatic pipelines, and is central to non-invasive biodiversity assessment, community composition profiling, invasive species surveillance, and ecological monitoring across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
DNA captured on air filters and stored since the 1960s acts as an ecological time capsule, according to a recent publication in Nature Communications. The findings show that tiny fragments of genetic material can paint a ...
Ecology
Dec 18, 2025
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Jurassic Park—and its never-ending sequels and spinoffs—starts with a basic premise: extracting the DNA of long-dead dinosaurs from mosquitoes frozen in amber.
Ecology
Dec 17, 2025
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46
A research team from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has harnessed citywide genetic data and developed a novel genome-resolved tracking method to uncover precisely how antibiotic-resistant ...
Ecology
Dec 15, 2025
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An international research team led by Aalborg University with contributions from the University of Vienna has systematically mapped the microbiome of an entire country for the first time. In the study "Microflora Danica," ...
Ecology
Dec 4, 2025
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188
The last two decades have seen a revolution in scientists' ability to reconstruct the past. This has been made possible through technological advances in the way DNA is extracted from ancient bones and analyzed.
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 2, 2025
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Researchers have developed VIRE, a database that integrates approximately 1.7 million viral genomes derived from more than 100,000 metagenomes worldwide. Metagenomic data is obtained by comprehensively sequencing all DNA ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 1, 2025
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During the annual salmon run last fall, University of Washington researchers pulled salmon DNA out of thin air and used it to estimate the number of fish that passed through the adjacent river. Aden Yincheong Ip, a UW research ...
Ecology
Nov 26, 2025
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Through DNA analysis of old air samples collected by the Swedish Armed Forces, researchers at Lund University in Sweden can show that spore dispersal of northern mosses has shifted over the past 35 years. It now starts several ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 26, 2025
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26
Two pioneering studies by researchers from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, led by Dr. Omri Bronstein, have identified the primary drivers of sea urchin mass mortality ...
Ecology
Nov 17, 2025
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35
A test developed by a Florida International University scientist can detect small, elusive hammerheads without ever setting eyes on them—a critical new tool for species fighting for survival.
Ecology
Nov 5, 2025
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