DNA detectives to join the search for Nessie

THE LEGEND of the Loch Ness monster has intrigued scientists for centuries – but now a group of experts hope modern technology will reveal what really lives in the murky depths of the Scottish lake.

Professor Neil Gemmell, a scientist from New Zealand, will lead the global team on a search of Loch Ness using DNA sampling techniques to uncover its secrets.

Genetic code will be extracted from water collected over a twoweek period, to determine the types of creatures that make the loch their home.

While Prof Gemmell is not convinced the Loch Ness monster exists, he hopes it could still throw up some interesting surprises.

“I don’t believe in the idea of a monster,” he said. “But I’m open to the idea that there are things yet to be discovered and not fully understood.

“Maybe there’s a biological explanation for some of the stories.”

DNA can be captured in the lake through tiny fragments left behind by creatures as they swim through the waters – from skin and scales, for example.

After the team’s trip next month, the samples will be sent to labs in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and France to be analysed against a genetic database.

“There’s absolutely no doubt that we will find new stuff,” said Prof Gemmell, who works at the University of Otago in Dunedin. “And that’s very exciting.

“While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness – the UK’s largest freshwater body.”