Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time

 

VIctoria Fang

1/26/22 

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 11

 

Coleman, Jude. “Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time.” Science News, 18 January 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/animal-dna-air-scientist-vacuum-first-time-zoo. 

 

I read the article “Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time” by Jude Coleman. The article started off with a story-telling-like hook paragraph about an ecologist trying to “suck animal DNA out of thin air” in a zoo. It went on to tell readers background information about the method of sucking DNA out of thin air and how it is done. Many people would think it’s crazy, even the scientist doing this herself. “‘It’s such a crazy idea,’ says Clare, of York University in Toronto. ‘We’re vacuuming DNA out of the sky.’” Another team of scientists was also attempting the same experiment at the University of Copenhagen. Later in the article, it was revealed that these experiments both came out with amazing results. Elizabeth Clare’s team identified “25 different species” including zoo animal species and species they didn’t know existed near their zoo. The University of Copenhagen’s team discovered “49 different vertebrate species in the Copenhagen Zoo.” To sum up, the article stated the importance of why this was an outstanding achievement in the scientific community even though no one really knows the reasoning and method behind it.

By discovering this new way of extracting DNA out of thin air without really harming or disturbing species, things might become a lot easier for scientists. Also, one of the experiments led to an animal they didn’t know about, which means endangered animals might also be found more easily, which will help endangered species around the world, as well as benefiting and helping dying food chains to survive by helping endangered species.

When I first came across this article, I thought that this was such an interesting and crazy idea to execute. The article led me in with a very nice hook. It gave two examples of experiments that involved extracting DNA from the air around us. And it ended with an explanation of why it all might matter to us today. It also included pictures of the experiments which helped the readers understand more of how the experiments were performed. However, the article would have been a lot more fulfilling if it included specific examples of possibilities of how this new amazing discovery could have played out in the scientific community.