Who hasn’t heard of the legendary monster living in Scotland’s Loch Ness? Many visitors went there for hundreds of years to find ‘Nessie’, but their search was in vain. However, a scientist from New Zealand will lead an international team next month to find proof that the monster existed.
Not a Believer in ‘Nessie’
Who better can prove if Nessie existed or not than a non-believer? Neil Gemmell is a professor at the University of Otago, and he wants to gather DNA from the water of the lake to see what could Nessie have been, if it really existed.
Gemmell explained that whenever a creature moves in the water, it leaves behind tiny traces of DNA from their body. It can come from feathers, scales or urine. He and his team plan to gather 300 samples of water from different areas of the lake and at different depths. Then, after filtering the organic material, they will extract the DNA. The last part of the analyze will be to sequence the DNA with technology created for the human genome project.
As soon as they get DNA results, they will compare them with a database of species of animals. He said that we should all know about Nessie’s existence by the end of this year:
“I’m going into this thinking it’s unlikely there is a monster, but I want to test that hypothesis. What we’ll get is a really nice survey of the biodiversity of the Loch Ness.”
When Gemmell was visiting Loch Ness over two decades ago, he thought of the monster. Later, he and his 7-year-old and 10-year-old children believed that DNA from the lake could prove if the legend is true or not.
Graeme Matheson is the chief of the Scottish Society of New Zealand, and he has visited Loch Ness too. He said:
“I hope he and his cohorts find something, although I think they’ll be battling. Still, it’s a good way to get a trip to Scotland.”
Gemmell concludes that discovery is how we solve the life’s mysteries. Although we still want these mysteries to be part of our lives, “sometimes, what you find may not be what you were expecting.”
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.