How we can detect pretty much anything - Hélène Morlon and Anna Papadopoulou
325,082 Views
1,776 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
Scientists have been staking out a forest in Montana for an animal that’s notoriously tricky to find. Camera traps haven’t offered definitive evidence, and experts can’t identify its tracks with certainty. But within the past decades, researchers have developed methods that can detect even the most elusive species. So how does it work? Hélène Morlon & Anna Papadopoulou dig into DNA metabarcoding.
Undisturbed lake sediments can be dated and used as natural archives of past changes in their surrounding environment. Pollen, leaves, hair, feces – some part of every organism that lives around a lake at a certain time ends up in the water and their eDNA is trapped in the respective layer of the lake sediment. European rabbits were introduced in a remote sub-Antarctic island during the 19th century, with potentially heavy impact on native plants because of overgrazing. How would you study whether the introduction of rabbits indeed changed the vegetation surrounding a local lake?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Hélène Morlon, Anna Papadopoulou
- Director Blok Magnaye, Creasenso
- Narrator Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Storyboard Artist Blok Magnaye
- Animator Blok Magnaye
- Composer Cem Misirlioglu, Alex Chumak
- Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
- Music Alex Chumak
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Associate Editorial Producer Cella Wright
- Production Coordinator Abdallah Ewis
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam
- Special Thanks Isaac Overcast , Emmanouil Meramveliotakis , Loudmila Jelinscaia Lagou, The iBioGen Project (Horizon 2020 - GA 810729)
