The wrath of Hurricane Katrina wreaked billions of dollars in damage and claimed hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. For many researchers at universities affected by the storm, it also destroyed or menaced their lives’ work.
That work often involved animals that perished. At Tulane University, the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and the University of Southern Mississippi, Katrina destroyed thousands of animals — including fruit flies, mice, rabbits, dogs, and primates — and materials ranging from tissue samples to cell lines to microorganisms like yeast and bacteria.