BROADCASTS.com

b'They look like a cross between a beaver and a duck, and they all live Down Under. The platypus may lay eggs, but is actually a distant mammalian cousin, one that we last saw, in an evolutionary sense, about 166 million years ago.\\nGenetic sequencing is being used to trace that history, while scientists intensify their investigation of the habits and habitats of these appealing Frankencreatures; beginning by taking a census to see just how many are out there, and if their survival is under threat.\\nGuests:\\xa0\\n\\n\\nJosh Griffiths\\xa0\\u2013 Senior Wildlife Ecologist at Cesaar Australia.\\n\\n\\nJane Fenelon\\xa0\\u2013 Research fellow, University of Melbourne\\n\\n\\nPaula Anich\\xa0\\u2013 Professor of Natural Resources, Northland College\\n\\n\\nWes Warren\\xa0\\u2013 Professor of Genomics, University of Missouri\\n\\n\\nPhoebe Meagher\\xa0\\u2013 Conservation Officer, Taronga Conservation Society, Australia\\n\\n\\xa0\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'