ComBi

It started with a strange discovery on the banks of the Aare in Bern: a lonely animal leg among the river stones. What animal did it belong to? And how did it get there?

To find out, a small sample was taken back to the university. In the population genetics practical, students turned the mystery into a DNA detective story: they extracted DNA, sequenced it, and compared the sequence with a database.

The result: mystery solved. The leg belonged to a badger.

Below you can follow the investigation from the original discovery and location map to the extracted DNA and the final database match.

Credits

Discovery: Anna Gnaiger, Milow.
Sampling: Stephan Peischl, Leander Gnaiger.
Lab Work: Janna Linn Balbina Zengaffinen, Larina Burkhard.
Lab Supervision: Elie Tieche, Gerald Heckel.

Playing Blood on the Clocktower at Hermina's farewell party.

We'll really miss Hermina as she moves on to new adventures! The lab won't be quite the same without her, but at least we got to enjoy one more Blood on the Clocktower game at her farewell. We wish her and her family all the best and hope the next chapter brings plenty of fun, laughter, and exciting new memories. We're looking forward to continuing to work together and seeing her again soon!