![Image of penguins in the scrub in Patagonia and text that reads: Penguins make amateur PFAS detectives. A new study in Argentine Patagonia has turned Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) into research assistants. the study equips birds with silicone anklets that absorb per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - nicknamed 'forever chemicals' - to give researchers an indication of the abundance of these harmful substances in the penguins' environment. "We have no better way of understanding the ocean [these animals] live in than letting them tell the story themselves," says veterinarian and study co-author Marcela Hart. The penguins "are now our elite team of marine detectives," she says.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:64gebfq7qgx6fwpmfh3qtlf6/bafkreiafgzup3w6lnw4f23dmpauhatwtiimyxqvmygakze3jqfghc5c45q)
Image of penguins in the scrub in Patagonia and text that reads: Penguins make amateur PFAS detectives. A new study in Argentine Patagonia has turned Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) into research assistants. the study equips birds with silicone anklets that absorb per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - nicknamed 'forever chemicals' - to give researchers an indication of the abundance of these harmful substances in the penguins' environment. "We have no better way of understanding the ocean [these animals] live in than letting them tell the story themselves," says veterinarian and study co-author Marcela Hart. The penguins "are now our elite team of marine detectives," she says.
Love this story in @nature.com #Briefing
Penguins 🐧 doing some citizen science to monitor forever chemicals! Tiny anklets absorb PFAS so we can monitor their abundance in the environment #ScienceIsEverywhere #BeCurious #DrJoScience #Penguins
