An article published in the journal “Biology Letters” describes a genetic research on the gray whale populations that live in the western and eastern Pacific Ocean to look for clues that help understand the disparity of their populations. Pofessor Andrew DeWoody of Purdue University and his collaborator, postdoctoral researcher Anna Brüniche-Olsen, compared the DNA of 77 western gray whales and 135 eastern gray whales and discovered a genetic divergence between the two populations, however there are some interbreedings and genetic diversity that offers hopes for their future.