Empty mollusc shells hold the story of evolution, even for extinct species. Now we can decode it

  • Written by: Kerry Walton, Researcher, University of Otago
Empty mollusc shells hold the story of evolution, even for extinct species. Now we can decode itAuthor provided

Most people have collected shells at the beach. Some have even started a shell collection. But few people realise these shells are a unique genetic resource that scientists are only beginning to tap into.

For over a decade it has been possible to extract and sequence ancient DNA from empty mollusc shells up to tens of thousands of...

Read more: Empty mollusc shells hold the story of evolution, even for extinct species. Now we can decode it