Scientists Turn to Crowdfunding After Budget Cuts Affect Research - Samantha Hurst, CrowdFundInsider

Looking to others after an unfortunate budget situation, University of Connecticut second-year Ph.D. student, Sarah McAnulty, has decided to launch a new crowdfunding campaign for her studies of the Hawaiian bobtail squid. The nocturnal animal has developed a keen relationship with glowing bacteria known to scientist as “symbiosis.” Hawaiian bobtail squidSharing the squid’s characteristics, McAnulty stated, “It’s about a size of a lime. All day, they bury under the sand and hide from predators. When the squid swim around at night, this bacteria glows and it prevents the squid from having a silhouette against the moon.” McAnulty believes by studying the animal and the glowing bacteria, the research could eventually have an impact in human medicine. The problem, funding for the project is very limited. http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/08/47290-scientists-turn-crowdfunding-budget-cuts-affect-research/