A rare glimpse of the biotechnology ecosystem in the region occurred this week when U.S. Sen. Mark Warner convened many of its tech sector leaders at the Fralin…
<p>For pangolins in Africa, a pattern of overlapping scales is a vital armor against predatory lions, hyenas, snakes, and wild dogs. The scales – composed of the same keratin that makes up our fingernails – allow the threatened mammals to curl up into a ball, protecting their vulnerable underside.</p>
<p>For traffickers of illegal wildlife, those scales are a unique and valuable currency, capable of moving untraced across national borders and a significant driver of criminal activities that threaten both wildlife populations and human communities around the globe.</p>
<p>To combat the challenges of wildlife trafficking, Virginia Tech’s <a href="https://cnre.vt.edu/">College of Natural Resources and Environment</a> was awarded a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to develop a state-of-the-art wildlife for
President Tim Sands said that he hopes to work alongside officials in Blacksburg and throughout the New River Valley to further plan what the university’s expansion will look like in coming years.