Paso Pacifico, a non-profit that works to conserve ecosystems, has developed the InvestEGGator, a 3D Printed GPS tracking device that looks and feels like a real sea turtle egg. They’re placed in real sea turtle nests for poachers to grab giving conservationists the poachers’ smuggling routes. They’re even hiring locals to patrol the beaches and collect scientific data, giving them an alternative income versus selling or poaching to get by, transforming them from poachers to guardians. The investEGGator may be able to help other species like birds, whose eggs are also smuggled in the wildlife trade.
SCIENTISTS GENETICALLY MUTATED FLIES GIVING THEM TOXIC ABILITIES LIKE BUTTERFLIES
Scientists at UC Berkeley have used CRISPR gene editing to genetically mutate fruit flies! They copied and pasted six variations of a monarch butterfly into the fruit flies, selecting butterflies are able to consume milkweed, which includes a toxin compound, making their predators puke if they ingest them. This is the first time anyone has recreated evolutionary mutations in a multicellular organism, leading to totally new adaptations in diet and in way of deterring predators.
GLOBAL DIGITAL MAP SHOWS HOW NATURE DIRECTLY BENEFITS YOU
Stanford University team created a visual representation revealing how people all over the world benefit from the environment and who is likely to lose those benefits due to land use and climate issues. “Revealing nature’s contributions to people is an essential step to averting the worst scenarios and transforming to a world in which both people and nature thrive,” said Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, lead scientist for the Natural Capital Project.
YOU MADE IT THIS FAR, HERE’S A TREAT!
For this upcoming week we’re offering you a chance to double your donation to our Sea Turtle Conservation Latin American Sea Turtles Association, that means that when you purchase an adult or kids Sea Turtle Tee 40% of your purchase will be donated to LAST to help protect sea turtles in Costa Rica! With just a 1/1000 survival rate, baby sea turtles need all the help they can get! Support their project with our I Love Sea Turtles Tee today!
RIDE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF LIKE NEMO, ON THE BACK OF A SEA TURTLE
Amazing video shows us a flatback sea turtle’s journey through one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems, the Great Barrier Reef. The WWF in Australia attached a Go-Pro to a turtle, giving us an exclusive peek into their life. Take a look!
MICE FIDGET TO HELP THEM CONCENTRATE, JUST LIKE PEOPLE
Researchers from the Cold Harbor Spring Laboratory found that mice also seem to fidget when focused on a task. “One hypothesis that we find intriguing is that in some way, maybe the movements are part of the process of thinking and deciding,” said neuroscientist Anne Churchland. “There might be this other aspect of fidgeting that people haven’t really considered before, which is that it’s part of how we call up that cognitive machinery.”
