Heard this in a podcast - Basking Embryos

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Lisa Anne

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Basking Embryos

Life's a beach. And then you... hatch?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Meet Wei-Guo Du from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He monitored freshly laid turtle eggs in makeshift nests in his lab. First, he identified each embryo's location in its egg by holding it up to a light. Then he tucked them all in -- embryo-side DOWN -- placed a heating pad on TOP, and checked them three days later.
Lo and behold, they'd migrated to the top of their eggs! Wherever he moved the pad -- to one side, then the other -- the turtle embryos followed! So egg-bound offspring aren't totally at the mercy of wherever mom drops them. They have a, uh, DEGREE of control over their destiny.
Actually, about two degrees Fahrenheit that's how much the internal temperature of an egg in the wild can differ from one end to the other. By seeking out their optimal habitat within the egg BEFORE hatching, turtles can improve their development and boost their survival AFTER hatching.
The effects of that warm spot in the public pool, however? Not QUITE as advantageous.
 
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