Conservation Science

In 2013, scientists discovered a new way to precisely edit genes — technology called Crispr that raised all sorts of enticing possibilities. Scientists wondered if it might be used to fix hereditary diseases, for example, or to develop new crops. One of the more intriguing ideas came from Kevin M. Esvelt and his colleagues at Harvard University: Crispr, they suggested, could be used to save endangered wildlife from extinction by implanting a fertility-reducing gene in invasive animals — a so-called gene drive.

When Margaret Rubega first read about how hummingbirds drink, she thought to herself: That can’t possibly be right.

Abstract

Dr. ELIZABETH JEAN FARNSWORTH, 54, died unexpectedly on October 27th 2017 at home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was born in Boston, MA on December 8th, 1962. She was educated at Brown University (B.A. with honors 1984), The University of Vermont (M.S. Botany 1991), and Harvard University (PhD. Ecology 1997). She conducted scientific research on many ecosystems throughout the world, focusing on restoration, conservation, and climate change.

For years, timber barons in Peru have sent lumber to the US by the shipload. But many of the groves they harvested were pure fiction.

When thousands of animals die during mass migrations, ecosystems accommodate the corpses and new cycles are set in motion. Fellow Amanda Subalusky and her colleagues have been studying the mass drownings of wildebeest in Kenya and their impact on the Mara River.