Save our seas foundation

News

Study reveals that understanding shark immunity genes could benefit human medical treatment
1st February 2017
Shark DNA provides exciting insights into their ancient and efficient immune systems A new genomics study of shark DNA primarily funded by Save Our Seas Foundation, including from great white and great hammerhead sharks, reveals unique modifications in their immunity genes that may underlie the rapid wound healing and possibly…
An antidote to Shark Week sensationalism
1st July 2016
It’s the last week of June and that means one thing in the shark world: Discovery Shark Week. Most shark scientists have mixed feelings about the show; it is a good thing that sharks are in the public eye, but sensationalist programmes that only show the fearsome side of sharks…
Night sharks and silky sharks in the Western Atlantic
4th April 2016
Having grown up close to the beach at São Paulo in Brazil, I have been interested in marine life since childhood. I surfed every day and each time I went out I would wonder, are there sharks around me? I felt a mixture of fascination and respect for them. In…
Genetic exploration of a Critically Endangered angel shark
5th February 2016
What is an angel shark? As the name would indicate, angel sharks really are the nicest and most heavenly sharks in the sea. Just kidding! Unfortunately, no, that’s not how they got their name. It’s more likely that their name derives from the sharks’ physical appearance rather than their genial…
Investigating the population connectivity of silky sharks around the world
2nd April 2015
Words by: Andrea Bernard Recently, I co-authored a paper entitled ‘Global mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and population structure of the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis’, which has just been published online in the journal Marine Biology. In general terms, the paper describes a study that I, together with several Save Our Seas…
Welcome Igbal Elhassan to the Save Our Seas Shark Research Center!
31st March 2015
Words by: Cassandra Ruck The day was Friday 9 January. After battling traffic for an hour, finding the correct parking garage and navigating to the airport terminal, it was time to find a place to ‘chill out’. If you’ve ever driven in Miami on the infamously crowded I-95 freeway, you…
5 Reasons why I do what I do – A shark geneticist’s tale
13th October 2014
Words by: Cassandra Ruck   1) Once abundant, now scarce   It is no secret that shark populations are in decline. My study species, the oceanic whitetip, was thought to be one of the most abundant pelagic sharks at one time. Now research shows the species has declined by about…