This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Karen Hopkin.Poachers take note.If you’re thinking about stealing eggs from the nests of sea turtles on the beaches of Costa Rica, well, you may wind up getting more than you bargained for.Because researchers have combined GPS technology with 3D printing to produce decoy eggs that look and feel like real turtle eggs…but can track where traffickers go when they swipe these endangered embryos.The egg-saving efforts are mapped out in the journal Current Biology.Some find sea turtle eggs to be a delicious seasonal treat…others think they’re an aphrodisiac―which has produced a thriving illegal market.The mock turtle eggs were crafted in response to something called the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, a program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development.Scientists led by Kim Williams-Guillen of Paso Pacifico, a conservation organization, devised the decoys.They drew their inspiration, in part, from a popular TV show, says Paso Pacifico’s executive director, Sarah Otterstrom.“Kim’s idea to put a tracking device into the egg came from an episode of Breaking Bad where the police hid a GPS transmitter of a shipment of raw materials for a methamphetamines lab.”The first challenge was getting the egg substitute just right.“We started with the size and dimension of the turtle egg, trying to figure out how much do they weigh, what’s their texture, how soft and squishy are there, they, and what’s their color.”
