How can Sir Patrick Stewart, some snot, and a drone help save the whales?

The beloved actor is backing a kickstarter project for the Snotbot, a drone designed to collect snot samples from wild whales. Snot may seem like a weird thing to be collecting, but from the samples, scientists will be able to learn a litany of things about each whale’s respiratory tract. They can track environmental toxins, test hormone levels (which can give more insight into their reproductive health and stress), analyze DNA, and even look to see whether the animal has a cold!

Using the Snotbot drone is a revolutionary to collect this important information. The Snotbot simply flies over the whale, hovers, and waits for the whale to exhale. Previous collection methods involved chasing the animal and collecting a biopsy with a dart. The Snotbot is a non-invasive way to learn about and protect these animals.

You can help the project and stay up to date with info about SnotBot by donating directly to Ocean Alliance: https://www.whale.org/tag/snotbot/

2013 TEDxPeachtree speaker Aurora Robinson has her own innovative way of saving the ocean. Click here to learn more:

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Rachel Pendergrass is a writer, performer and science communicator in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the assistant director of the Dragon Con Science Track, a program contributor for the Atlanta Science Festival, and producer/host of a monthly science variety show called Solve for X. Find her on Twitter at @sharkespearean.