An innovative tool that can confirm the recent presence of any given fish species in a sample of water is among the marvels to be highlighted at the two-day National Conference on Marine Environmental DNA here beginning on Thursday. About 100 pioneering practitioners and users of eDNA science -- a mighty complement to traditional marine life monitoring systems -- will convene to detail and share discoveries, state-of-the-art technologies and new methods.

The new tool created at The Rockefeller University, which will host the conference, offers, for example, a chemical shortcut for researchers to test for the eDNA of a specific, individual species in a water sample. It makes use of the fact that every species leaves a trail of genetic residue -- skin cells, excretions, other DNA -- as it moves.