Historically, sailors called out the words “Thar she blows!” whenever they saw whales. Today, the old cry of sailors is taking on new meaning as scientists turn to modern technology to study whales. Some scientists have begun using drone aircraft, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, to collect some of the fluids expelled by whales. Vanessa Pirotta is a researcher with Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She told the Reuters news agency that a drone has been used for the first time to collect whale mucus from humpback whales at sea. She believes that drones could help improve scientists’ understanding of whales around the world. “We’re collecting that visible plume of spray rising from the whale’s blowhole, as they come to the surface to breathe,” she said. The method, she added, could provide a better understanding of the patterns and drivers of disease in wild populations.