On Jan. 6, 2022, Two new studies published in the journal Current Biology showed that environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from air can be used to detect a wide range of animal species and offers a novel, non-invasive approach to monitoring biodiversity.

The findings were made by two independent groups of researchers, one based in Denmark, the other based in the United Kingdom and Canada. Both research groups set out to test whether airborne eDNA could be used to detect terrestrial animal species. To do this, the research teams collected air samples from two European zoos, Hamerton Zoo Park, UK, and Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark.