Camilla Whittington and a live platypus being held by its tail.When she was a child "in the land Down Under," Camilla Whittington’s dad decided it would be fun for them to go look for platypuses. These animals, found only in Australia, are technically mammals, yet they are like no other mammals around – sure, like all mammals, they produce milk for their babies, but they also lay eggs and have a bill like birds do, and, most oddly, the males shoot venom from spurs in their hind legs that causes pain even the strongest painkillers can’t alleviate.
A vet by training, Whittington’s father helped inspire his daughter’s love of science from a young age.
“Both my parents encouraged my siblings and me to take an interest in the natural world." Whittington says. "I really like the way science explains logically why things are the way they are."
This passion led her to become a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at The University of Sydney. Last year, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and she chose to use it to come to The Genome Center at Washington University to study the genetics of platypus venom.
There are very few mammals that produce venom. Even in platypuses, only the males make venom, which they use to defend their territories and protect themselves against predators. It’s also very hard to collect platypus venom since it’s mainly produced during the animal’s breeding season, and they don’t breed easily in captivity. Besides that, as Whittington knows from her childhood trips in Australia, it’s quite difficult to catch a wild platypus
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