TIL of Darwin's Ark, a community research nonprofit aimed to better understand household pets (and they are actively seeking ppl to help with cat research!)
TIL of Darwin's Ark, a community research nonprofit aimed to better understand household pets (and they are actively seeking ppl to help with cat research!)
Join the world's largest pet citizen science project. Together, we can discover new ways to help pets and their people live happier, healthier lives.
The nonprofit's scientist co-founder was one of the organizers of a conference I attended, so that's how I learned! From their website:
Darwin’s Ark was founded by two passionate pet lovers—a geneticist and an engineer—who noticed a glaring gap in scientific research. Many people had pets, but surprisingly little research focused on their health and wellbeing.
This sparked the creation of Darwin’s Ark, a nonprofit organization that combines the perspectives of pet parents with the expertise of professional scientists to expand the scale and scope of pet research.
Since then, Darwin’s Ark has helped thousands of pet owners contribute to the scientific understanding of their furry companions. We value pet owners’ insights—you know your animals best—and we believe in the transformative power of community science to drive discovery.
They just launched a new project, Darwin's Cats. And they are seeking out cat owners to submit data on their cats. I believe they also do genetic testing too and the data goes to researchers, instead of some shady startup company