Established at Inkaterra Guides Field Station and self-financed through ecotourism, GreenLab is the first molecular biology and genetics field research laboratory set up in the Amazon basin. Promoted by Inkaterra Asociación and Field Projects International (FPI), this groundbreaking initiative aims to explore and apply genetic research methodologies to conserve Amazonian biodiversity, through portable and efficient devices designed to withstand the most adverse conditions.

Co-authored by scientists Mrinalini Watsa, Gideon A. Erkenswick, Arron Pomerantz and Stefan Prost, the first academic paper from GreenLab is titled Genomics in the Jungle: Using Portable Sequencing as a Teaching Tool in Field Courses. The new publication examines the successful deployment of instruments that enable molecular work conducted in the field, reducing time and resources invested in DNA analyses, going from extraction to sequence – a step towards the exploration of living organisms in the Amazon rainforest, many of which are yet unknown to science.

ANIMAL PLANET VISITS INKATERRA’S
ANDEAN BEAR CONSERVATION CENTER

Soon after People Magazine named him one of the “Sexiest Men Alive” in 2014, veterinarian Dr. Evan Antin became a social media phenomenon, gaining over one million followers at Instagram. Travelling around the world to treat wild and exotic animals, Dr. Evan is now the host of Animal Planet’s new show Evan Goes Wild.

For the season finale, Dr. Evan travelled to the Machu Picchu cloud forest to check out Inkaterra’s Andean Bear Project, which studies and conserves the only bear species native to South America. “It was magic to be here in Peru and see this semi-wild spectacled bear come out of the forest and appear before my eyes,” says Dr. Evan after treating one of Inkaterra’s rescued bears with a vitamin juice. “These bears’ story is a perfect example of wildlife conservation.”