Drones are helping researchers figure out what viruses live in whales. Some are similar to ones in humans
A team of researchers has found viruses related to human pathogens like ones that cause the common cold — and they collected them using drones.
by Megha Satyanarayana
Jun 11, 2018
3 minutes
The things we can learn from whale snot.
Using drones to capture the mist from humpback whale blowholes, a team of Australian researchers has found viruses related to human pathogens like ones that cause the common cold.
And while we donât yet know whether those viruses make humpbacks sick, the work helps us better understand how viruses evolve between hosts, and it also allows us to study daily whale-being in a less invasive way. Scientists think they can use the drone-collection method to track speciesâ health less intrusively in an ocean
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