{"id":215369,"date":"2025-06-04T13:16:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T18:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/it-seems-like-science-fiction-researchers-unleash-breakthrough-tracking-technology-using-environmental-dna"},"modified":"2025-06-04T13:16:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T18:16:03","slug":"it-seems-like-science-fiction-researchers-unleash-breakthrough-tracking-technology-using-environmental-dna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/it-seems-like-science-fiction-researchers-unleash-breakthrough-tracking-technology-using-environmental-dna","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt Seems Like Science Fiction\u201d: Researchers Unleash Breakthrough Tracking Technology Using Environmental DNA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/it-seems-like-science-fiction-researchers-unleash-breakthrough-tracking-technology-using-environmental-dna.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Scientists have revealed a novel means of tracking everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/thedebrief.org\/satellite-data-is-revealing-the-return-of-an-elusive-predator-to-finlands-remote-wilderness\/\">wildlife<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/thedebrief.org\/illicit-cannabis-products-contain-potentially-dangerous-fungal-toxins-new-research-reveals\/\">illicit substances<\/a> using environmental <a href=\"https:\/\/thedebrief.org\/scientists-complete-first-comprehensive-map-of-human-dna-recombination\/\">DNA<\/a> detectable in the <a href=\"https:\/\/thedebrief.org\/cold-war-radioactive-dust-is-still-circulating-in-european-air-alarming-new-research-reveals\/\">air<\/a> around us.<\/p>\n<p>The findings, outlined in a new study published in <em>Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution<\/em>, show that tracking virtually anything using environmental DNA can be achieved as simply as capturing this ever-present <a href=\"https:\/\/thedebrief.org\/ancient-genetic-discovery-challenges-single-lineage-theory-of-human-origins\/\">genetic material<\/a> from the air using a vacuum.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery, made by a team led by David Duffy, Ph.D., reveals DNA as a powerful new tool for detecting and tracking living organisms and a range of substances in virtually any environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scientists have revealed a novel means of tracking everything from wildlife to illicit substances using environmental DNA detectable in the air around us. The findings, outlined in a new study published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution, show that tracking virtually anything using environmental DNA can be achieved as simply as capturing this ever-present genetic material [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,385,412],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biotech-medical","category-evolution","category-genetics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}