The sensational results of the search for Nessie's genetic material in the legendary Scottish lake have been summed up.
Scientists from different countries, led by Professor Neil Gemmell (professor Neil Gemmell) from the University of Otago in New Zealand (University of Otago in New Zealand), have been surveying the high-mountain Scottish Loch Ness for more than a year, in which the Loch Ness monster is known to live - Nessie, as they call him. We went on an expedition in early June 2018. They promised to take stock in January 2019. But they hesitated. And they announced the results only the other day - in early September.
Professor Neil Gemmel pinned his hopes on the DNA preserved in the lake.
Gemmel and his colleagues did not find the Loch Ness monster. Yes, they did not dream. They only planned to find out whether it is present in the lake and whether it lived in former times. The answer has been received.
The researchers analyzed the so-called environmental DNA (eDNA) - genetic material that could be isolated from pieces of skin, mucus, scales, urine, poop and other "good" left by various inhabitants of the lake in the course of their life.
Samples for analysis were collected from 300 places on the lake - including from great depths.
The detected DNA fragments were sequenced, obtaining a total of more than 500 million sequences. We compared them with the existing databases.
The Loch Ness monster should have been indicated by some unknown genetic material, or, conversely, known, but belonging to extinct animals. After all, it is believed that Nessie is a plesiosaur that has miraculously survived to this day - a prehistoric lizard that looks like such a huge bag with either fins, or with paws and a long neck.
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According to the most popular hypothesis, the Loch Ness monster is a plesiosaur that miraculously survived to this day.
- I do not believe that the Loch Ness monster really exists, - said Professor Gemmel before starting research, - but I really want to test the hypothesis about the lizard. And I am ready for any surprises.
Alas, no surprises happened. Comparison of DNA from the lake and DNA from databases did not give the desired result. And it testified: there are no prehistoric dinosaurs in the lake. And it was not in the foreseeable past.
“Sorry,” the New Zealand Herald newspaper quotes the professor, “but I don’t think that the idea of the existence of a plesiosaur can be confirmed based on the data that we received.
The professor did not find the DNA of the lizards.
What then did people see and still see? According to the professor, observers are misled by giant eels, which are almost 2 meters long. DNA analysis from the environment has confirmed that they - such giants - are found in the lake.
So: a goof-nesk monster is not a lizard, but an eel. Observers take him - an eel - a long body and take Nessie by the neck.
The most famous photograph of Nessie was taken by surgeon Robert Kenneth Wilson in 1934. Acne?
The professor, who gave out the sensational but depressing information, is still cautious. Says additional DNA tests are needed to confirm the findings. So that they become completely final.
BUT WHAT IF…
Maybe Nessie still exists?
A few years ago, Gary Campbell, custodian of the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, greatly upset him - the monster - fans. Announced the favorite (or favorite) of the public as missing. Or even deceased. The reason was the eight-month absence of any reports from eyewitnesses.
And soon the good news came. Some Hayley Johnson from Manchester (Hayley Johnson, from Manchester) claimed that she saw the monster - on the May holidays. And even photographed while in Scotland.
Eyewitnesses claim that they saw Nessie quite recently.
VLADIMIR LAGOVSKY