A groundbreaking study reveals how dolphins, whales and other cetaceans compete for survival in an evolutionary ‘arms race’ with changing pathogenic threats like mercury and brevotoxin (e.g. Red Tide). Researchers show that cetaceans use several strategies for success in this race. They have developed tools to help wildlife managers and health professionals assess disease risk from the perspective of how individual animals are engineered to recognize the molecules of microorganisms in the environment and launch an immune response.