Teens discover new species of cockroach in New York City
New Yorkers beware! A new species of roach may have emerged from the streets of the Big Apple.
By Bryan NelsonThu, Dec 24 2009 at 6:29 AM EST
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BIG APPLE BUGS: The environment of a big city like New York could be a breeding ground for new species of creepy crawlies. (Photo: dotpolka/Flickr) As part of a project for their high school science class, students Brenda Tan, 17, and Matt Cost, 18, may have discovered a new species of cockroach while collecting samples in a New York City supermarket.
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The two teens were acting in their roles as "DNAHouse investigators", according to their supervisor Mark Stoeckle, an expert on genomics and DNA barcoding at Rockefeller University. Designed to teach young aspiring scientists more about genetic research, the project gives students the opportunity to use the Barcode of Life Database and GenBank to identify samples they collect themselves.
Of course, no one expected results quite so surprising.
"The cockroach is genetically modified. Species don't differ more than 1 percent, this cockroach is 4 percent different, which suggests it is a new species of cockroach," Stoeckle told AFP. "We think that the museums of natural history in Paris or New York could be interested."
And the cockroach was just one of many shocking samples the pair collected while wandering the streets and buildings of the Big Apple. All in all, the American Museum of Natural History laboratory identified 170 genetic codes from the samples collected by Tan and Cost, leading the researchers to identify 95 different animal species. Aside from the new roach, the pair's samples also yielded DNA from an ostrich, paddlefish, bison and even a giant flying squid.
It's a stark reminder of just how small the world really is. And while the origin of the new roach remains a mystery, there's a good chance that it was home grown. The environment of a big city like New York offers an ideal breeding ground for creepy crawlies of all sorts.
New Yorkers out there may want to think twice before lifting their foot to squash the next buggy invader. You might be squashing a brand new species!
Related on MNN: 10 bugs that will make you squirm
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ym
05/22/2010 06:42 AM
i am not a big fan of cockroach i like only when they are baby they are cute but when they grow up they become ugly i prefer spiders i am just 12 years girl but i know over 120 species of spider
ym
05/22/2010 06:42 AM
i am not a big fan of cockroach i like only when they are baby they are cute but when they grow up they become ugly i prefer spiders i am just 12 years girl but i know over 120 species of spider
ym
05/22/2010 06:42 AM
i am not a big fan of cockroach i like only when they are baby they are cute but when they grow up they become ugly i prefer spiders i am just 12 years girl but i know over 120 species of spider
Traveller
01/02/2010 01:05 AM
Instead of bitching, which you seem so adept at, do some of your own damn research. Firstly, it's a metropolitan international city with millions of immigrants and foreign visitors. Secondly, eggs of insects in particular can survive amazing journeys and still be viable. Thirdly, sure the squid could be leaving DNA. What they didn't say in the article was where they were collecting DNA from, and NO ONE seems to think to have asked that basic question. Could have been from a fish market, for.... More
Guest
12/30/2009 03:33 AM
they're sweet. i had one for a pet in boston once. he dropped out of the ceiling onto the nightstand. when i fed him cat food he'd hold it in his little hands and eat it like an ice cream cone.
i miss roachie. :(
hogorina@att.net
01/09/2010 18:36 PM
It is intellectual nourishment, to learn that one poster realises that cockroaches are good pets. Most of the public within this city ignore nature's warning, that uncleanlesness is an open door, and a warning to keep clean, or an army of invading house cleaners will do the job. The roach is man's best friend, always on the job, and at the proper time. During the great depression, children would corner the larger fat roaches, stomping them, and then shouting, Pop goes the weasel.
Some.... More
NorKnOAd
12/29/2009 00:22 AM
"Aside from the new roach, the pair's samples also yielded DNA from an ostrich, paddlefish, bison and even a giant flying squid."
A closer second look...
"Samples also yielded DNA from"
They didn't find these animals in NYC. The fragments of DNA are linked to these other species. This is just how recently scientists traced the AIDS virus to an ancient species of tigers. Using restriction enzymes you can cut sequences of DNA into smaller bits and match those to known samples. .... More
Omicron
12/28/2009 22:11 PM
OK I'll go with the new cockroaches, as disgusting as the thought is. I'll even buy the story about the other critters. But giant flying squid? Give me a break!
Dani
12/28/2009 16:54 PM
These cockroaches look a lot like those found in Johannesburg, South Africa (where I grew up). They are known as Parktown Prawns - read about them on Wikipedia. Frightening resemblance!!
Paul
12/28/2009 16:44 PM
from genus Blatta, cockroaches; Novum Eboracum, Latin name for New York.
Justin
12/28/2009 16:05 PM
Google Giant flying squid, its a real animal, it lives in the ocean. And you people are retarded.
Phil Signet
12/28/2009 14:58 PM
...that most new roaches are only 1% different but this one is 4% different....
Autumn
12/28/2009 15:01 PM
Using polymerase chain reactions you can amplify a small extraction of DNA and use other techniques to search for single nucleotide polymorphisms and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (differences between the genomes of different species of cockroaches), quantify them, and calculate the % difference between the genomes.
Frank Language
12/28/2009 14:32 PM
# Cockroaches can live a month without food, but only a week without water
R.eulberg
12/28/2009 14:12 PM
"giant flying squid"? was this put in just to see if anyone was actually reading
PatWoman
12/28/2009 15:00 PM
I've been sitting here for 30 minutes trying to visual a "giant flying squid." What could the writer have possibly meant?
Dennis
12/28/2009 16:01 PM
Instead of spending 30 minutes on nothing, u ought've used Wikipedia :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Squid
Bug Boy
12/28/2009 12:35 PM
Things I know about cockroaches and you (perhaps) do not:
# Crushed cockroaches when applied to a wound, can help ease the sting
# cockroaches have white blood
# Roaches primarily come out for water, not food
# Cockroaches can live a month without food, but only a week without water
# A roach can live a week without a head. It dies after a week due to lack of water
DetroitGreen
12/28/2009 12:38 PM
Could the world be a better place without cockroaches at least the common pest species…? Or would some people be crying their eyes out if there weren’t any?
I started thinking about this question when a friend, who breeds very expensive predatory fishes, complained to me that there are almost no more “wild cockroaches” (by that he means the ones in our homes) that are not polluted by insecticides. This implies that we are doing a good job. He feeds his fish with cockroaches, and.... More
