Coral

In an effort to keep the world's coral reefs from disappearing forever, a number of reef restoration projects are currently underway … but how can scientists tell if any one of those projects is working? The answer may lie in listening to the reefs.

A 25-year search for another source of a promising anti-cancer chemical produced by a rare coral species has now started to bear fruit, with the discovery other readily available corals produce the chemical in abundance.

Rare coral bleaching brought on by abnormal sea temperatures is rapidly becoming the norm on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which has just experienced its fourth such event in six years, and the first to ever occur in a La Niña year.

The damage sunscreen can do to corals is tied to a common ingredient called oxybenzone, and Stanford scientists have now shown how corals convert the compound into a potent toxin that brings about their demise.

If corals are going to survive on today's ecologically stressed reefs, they've gotta be tough. Scientists have therefore been developing a special "turbo-charged" coral, which has recently been found to be reproducing on the Great Barrier Reef.

Living coral reefs consist of rigid "skeletons" inhabited by the tiny coral polyps that built them. A new research project aims to restore damaged reefs faster than ever, utilizing 3D-printed skeletons made of the same material as the real thing.

Coral rely on a symbiotic relationship with algae to maintain good health. Scientists have now gained unprecedented insight into this phenomenon, making observations of coral cells engulfing algae for the first time ever.

Researchers have put forward an interesting way of preventing some of this damage brought by ocean acidification, through a study demonstrating how releasing an alkalinizing agent from shipping lanes could help protect much of the Great Barrier Reef.

Scientists have demonstrated a new way we may be able to limit damage to the world's coral reefs, by taking coral species that have already survived severe heat stress and transplanting them to degraded reefs to sow the seeds for restoration.

Most earthquakes last seconds to minutes, but others rumble along slowly for weeks or months, at low frequencies that may not be felt at the surface. Now researchers in Singapore have discovered the slowest earthquake ever found, lasting 32 years.

Scientists are taking inspiration from recent advances in human microbiome research to investigate how transplantations of helpful bacteria can help increase heat tolerance in vulnerable coral species, with some promising early results.

An international team of researchers has made a discovery that could prove useful to the efforts to preserve the world's coral reefs, using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool to identify a key gene that regulates their response to heat stress.