UC Santa Barbara researcher Susanne Meyer remembers when she went out to collect skin biopsy samples from free roaming blue whales in the Santa Barbara Channel. Standing with her teammates on the deck of a small UCSB boat, Meyer watched as licensed whale researcher Jeff K. Jacobsen aimed his sampling device at the magnificent, giant creatures as they surfaced the waters that morning. Only one attempt per whale was permitted and the risk was high to either miss the target or lose the precious sample in the ocean.

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