This Summer issue of CALS GROW magazine features research funded by a UW2020 Round 6 award based in Genetics and with collaborators in Biomedical Engineering, Entomology, History, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Medical Physics and the Morgridge Institute of Research. The studies explore innovative ways for effective banking of animal samples and cloning as tools for the preservation of dwindling animal species, based on cell preservation through bioinspired materials and on the ability of shared developmental programs in related species to reprogram cell specification. A side feature also highlights educational activities, both in campus and in a Genetics-sponsored study abroad program in Costa Rica, that are integrated with these efforts.
To read more about how Professor Pelegri’s lab is working to unravel the mysteries of cross-species cloning to help create a genetic library to preserve animal diversity, click here. More information about harvesting animal DNA from mosquitos in the Costa Rican jungles can be found here, in an additional sidebar in this issue of CALS GROW.