We have commenced a series of hands-on activities with partner teachers to introduce them to key concepts in marine ecology and biosecurity, molecular methods and useful resources for incorporation into the schools’ curriculum and for future citizen scientists engaged in molecular biosecurity surveillance.
Holly Bowers joined our group as a visiting researcher and worked with the DETECT and ECONOMICS & DECISION-SUPPORT teams to define better (and more efficient) methods to capture nucleic acids (environmental DNA and RNA) from marine waters.
An educational article on environmental DNA was published in Frontiers for Young Minds journal - a unique open-access scientific journal aimed at younger audiences with scientific articles reviewed by a board of kids and teens.
Together with a wide group of international experts a roadmap for a meaningful collaboration between researchers and end-users towards the implementation of molecular methods in marine policies was suggested and published in a peer-reviewed paper.
An important opinion paper on “The risks of using molecular biodiversity data for incidental detection of species of concern”, published in Diversity and Distributions journal.
A review paper on recent implementations of environmental genomic-based methods, applied to biomonitoring of ecosystems was published in collaboration with world-leading scientists in that field.
Our PostDoc researcher Ulla von Ammon has taken part in the SEA Semester® research cruise organized by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Ulla shared with us challenges and exciting moments experienced during the expedition. Do you want to learn more about how does it feel to be a molecular scientist on a sailing ship?
A paper by Susie Wood and colleagues presents the results of an aquarium experimental study, where eDNA and eRNA shedding rates and degradation were investigated for two marine invasive species.