Currently, Marcella was poring over her notes, comparing her latest samples to those recorded. In plastic bags were leaf trimmings of various members of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia]Euphorbiaceae[/url] family, some already perspiring inside their containers. With them, though, were silica crystals inserted precisely to counter their natural humidity. As her goal was to collect samples for DNA extraction, Marla needed a way to collect and maintain the quality of her samples for the duration of the journey, and she’d devised this method several trips ago on advice from a fellow. The crystals, then, were there to soak up and humidity inside the bags, thus preventing the proliferation of bacteria that the Amazon heat and humidity naturally encouraged.

“Right, samples noted for the last stop” Marla said, packing her things back into her backpack. “Let’s make another stop in a few hundred meters, okay, Hugo?”

“No problema,” Hugo said, giving her a thumbs up around the oar he was holding. 

“Obrigado, Hugo, Marco,” Marla said, smiling. Then, with one final bagged sample in her hand, she walked over to the bow of the boat to join Han.

“Hey, remember this? [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchornea_castaneifolia]Alchornea castaneifolia[/url]—Professor Lorenzi went on about this plant for[i]ever[/i] back in the day. As much as I hated him for making us memorize all those random compounds found inside medical plants, those really came into use after I started studying Euphorbias. Poisonous sap aside, this leaf has been used to relieve pain by the locals around here. An islander friend actually showed me how to do it with a relative of this one, though this one’s apparently the go-to. Maybe we should collect some more, just in case someone gets a scrape.”

No one had missed the bright red box under the boat’s benches, especially not with the now-universal  cross symbol to advertise its use for all to see, but Marla had only meant it as a joke. She herself had never had an occasion to use her medical knowledge of plants, at least not on trips. First aid and hospitals were her default choice, seeing as most tribal salves were a far cry from antibiotics and painkillers, but she could entertain the prospect. After all, these plants were the focus of her study, and she would have all this knowledge stacked away for nothing if she never put it to use.