Have you ever wondered what’s floating about in Dublin’s air? Well, it’s more than you might think.

Scientists have been vacuuming the city’s air to unlock the secrets of our environmental DNA.

Assistant Professor of wildlife disease genomics at the University of Florida Dr David Duffy, who is behind the research, joined Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea to explain further.

“All species, including ourselves are continuously shedding trace elements of their DNA into the environment – our skin cells, hair cells, every time we exhale,” he said.

“Our technologies are sensitive enough now that you can take samples from the environment; whether it’s water, air or sediment.

"You can actually purify the DNA out of those samples and then work with it as you would any other kind of DNA sample.

“Because of that, that means we have a really powerful tool for assessing what species are present in that particular location, all without having to see them, interact with them or stress them out.”

Kids friends children playing outside nature looking for four leaf clover in summer woodland. Wales. KATHY DEWITT

According to Dr Duffy, this method can give valuable insights into the wildlife profile of an area.

“Unfortunately, and maybe not surprisingly, rats and mice DNA was pretty high in Dublin air,” he said.

“Obviously we have more human DNA in the air there as well.

“We were a little bit surprised to find there was actually more pigs and cow DNA in Dublin than in rural settings in Ireland.”

Dr Duffy said this was because “every burger, every ham sandwich, every breakfast roll that people are consuming in Dublin, it still has the DNA present in it from those species”.

Main image: Piglet; Middle White Cross.