. >> i'm in the peruvian amazon and we're on the search for endangered macaws. >> now techknow is on a one of a kind mission. >> look at those wings. >> the macaw; graceful, elegant, and in some parts of the world, endangered. it's a race against time - >> so the climber up top just yelled down saying she saw a lightning strike. >> - to save a species. >> it's time to hurry up. >> i'm phil torres, i'm an entymologist. i do much of my research in this jungle i'll share my findings with marita davision, an environmental biologist, and dr. crystal dilworth, a molecular neuroscientist. that's our team, now let's do some science. >> it's all worth it. >> hey guys, welcome to techknow. i'm phil torres, joined by dr. crystal dilworth and marita davison. so guys, picture this, you are deep in the rain forests of peru when suddenly a flock of red and blue magnificent creatures takes off in front of you. they are beautiful, but let me tell you, they don't start out so pretty. >> you have to be talking about macaws. i'm a bird biologist so in my day i've seen a lot of baby birds and i have to a

. >> i'm in the peruvian amazon and we're on the search for endangered macaws. >> now techknow is on one of a kind mission. >> look at those wings. >> the macaw; graceful, elegant,

of making a living - like harvesting brazil nuts from the giant castana trees that grow in the peruvian amazon. >> but with brazil nuts averaging a few dollars per pound - and gold prices well over a thousand dollars an ounce - will efforts like this be enough to put a dent in illegal mining? >> there is hope because humans can do great things, and the great things that we do don't need to be just destructive things. but the key element is knowledge. we need to know in order to act. >> coming up - did the gold in your ring play a part in this kind of destruction? >> gold. sought after for its beauty. but at what price? how does a buyer know the real cost of a gold ring? >> these are the rings. >> these are the rings. this is what we show our customers when they come in for an appointment. >> at brilliant earth, beth gerstein wants her customers to feel confident that a ring doesn't come at the expense of human rights and devastated rainforests. >> i didn't want a symbol of love from my husband to be associated with such atrocities. >> now when you first started was it just about conflict diamo