Microbiology seminar: Professor Neil Gemmell, Department of Anatomy
Environmental DNA - a new lens on the world?
The world is confronted with multiple challenges: ecological damage on massive scales, a global extinction crisis, and pandemic threats. The recent response to COVID-19 and the rise in the use of wastewater monitoring highlight both the need for and the power of real-time data to manage these crises. But what if we could take the lessons learned from Covid monitoring and apply them locally and globally to achieve similar real-time insights for various ecological threats, to help protect our health, industries, and biodiversity? Here I consider what a such an initiative might entail and how we could begin to create a new lens on the world.