Sand dollars: not just a shell you pick up from the beach one at a time - Oceana USA
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March 14, 2008

Sand dollars: not just a shell you pick up from the beach one at a time

Researchers at the University of Washington have discovered that sand dollar larvae have the ability to clone themselves and split when they sense the presence of a predator, increasing their chances of survival.

That’s very handy, but so is the grad student who conducted the research: instead of a beaker, she used a shot glass to hold the tested larvae. This may seem unorthodox, but as someone who has been in grad school myself, I think I can understand how she might have come to have a supply of shot glasses within arm’s reach of her desk.