By: Khushi Gupta
I am sure all of you have heard of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster at one point. Either that or have seen remakes or different versions of the story. The Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed Nessie, is a large ocean creature discovered in Loch Ness, Scotland. It is widely considered a myth, as much of the evidence is anecdotal. Reports of this creature can be traced back to ancient times as early as 565 AD. It is now a popular tourist area, however, it said that being able to see Nessie is extremely rare.
Over time, many sonar explorations and photographs were taken, many however being fakes and none of the explorations successful.
At first, many believed it to be some sort of long-extinct plesiosaurs as the solitary survivor. Researchers tried to catalogue the species by taking DNA from water samples. The analysis, however, found no evidence of large animals or prehistoric marine reptiles behind the monster. Instead, there was comparatively large amounts of eel DNA found suggesting that it may be a form of giant eel. The presence of eels in the lake is no surprise, making it highly likely that this could happen.
Other scientists, while not believing in Nessie, do believe in finding other genetic codes. They believe there is a “biological explanation” to be found.
There are many other theories of what the monster could be as many pictures have turned up to be hoaxes, instead capturing silhouettes of different things from large fallen branches to swimming circus elephants.
Q: Which animal’s DNA was found in higher amounts from the water samples surrounding Nessie? A: Eels.
Q: How do scientists take DNA from water samples? A: There are 2 most used methods to take DNA: filtration and precipitation. In filtration, water passes through a filter to capture the DNA while in precipitation, scientists use ethanol to precipitate the nucleic acids in the water samples.
Sources
Pixabay :
@natrix66
@greg motani in Pixabay