Biologist discovers 79 new species of sharks...

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Biologist discovers 79 new species of sharks

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 July, 2012 : - - Gavin Naylor has discovered 79 new species of sharks of the more than 1,200 or so species of sharks and rays already known to be out there. We're pretty sure there are a lot more (species) out there. We’re just a bunch of nerdy scientists doing the best we can.

Naylor is a biologist at the Hollings Marine Laboratory, working jointly for College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina. He’s studying the genetic sequencing of sharks, to find keys in the DNA that might explain how and why organisms “sprout new features,” or evolve.

It’s pretty involved science, but it could have profound “real world” applications to genetic medicine and other fields. Working with Naylor is researcher Chenhong Li, who invented a way to “velcro” individual genes, getting them to stick to molecules so they can be isolated.

The technique potentially could allow genetic coding to be compared among 1,200 genes of as many as 100 different specimens at a time. How important is that? - “We used to do it one gene by one gene,” Li said.

Most of the new shark species are “cryptic,” virtually indistinguishable from known species — except the DNA doesn’t match. The team came across them while using DNA to ensure they had the species they thought they did. They’re using sharks for the study because sharks are the oldest surviving vertebrate animals that, like us, have jaws.  Read More 

Source: Post & Courier

Author: The Editors

Tags: Shark Reasearch

Sharks: Surfersvillage