Project name: Unidentified specimens/backlog with Cothill house (http://cothill.net)
Students from Cothill House were involved in a number the 'Backlog' project in collaboration with NHM Scientists. This project was put together because amongst the millions of herbarium specimens at the NHM there are 1000s that remain to be identified even to family level and some were collected in the 1800s! The students learned about herbarium specimens and collections at the NHM and about the importance of DNA analyses for helping to identify species.
The students helped in the process of identifying some specimens (DNA extractions from leaf material, PCR and gel electrophoresis) and we have found some interesting results (coming very soon!).
Botanical collections at the NHM: http://nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/collections/search/results.jsp?department=32&details=true&mode=collections
