A research group in Italy has developed two new coral protection technologies for healing and restoring coral reefs: a biopaste and a natural patch, both successfully tested on real corals. The two solutions resulted from the collaboration among researchers at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa, and the Acquario di Genova (Aquarium of Genoa).

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) today announced a $25 million gift of unrestricted support from Mark Terasaki, an MBL Whitman Scientist and Associate Professor in the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Department of Cell Biology. The gift will provide $5 million annually for the next five years to support core operations and infrastructure for MBL’s education and research programs. “Mark’s gift is the largest private contribution that MBL has received in its 137-year history,” said MBL Board Chairman Bill Huyett. “Beyond reflecting his extraordinary generosity, Mark’s support is notable for its purpose: helping to underwrite the scientific and administrative infrastructure that sustains the excellence of our training and research programs and the impact they deliver. Unrestricted support is invaluable—it allows us to adapt to the rapidly evolving world of basic research and ensure our programs deliver the greatest possible impact.”

As global climate change intensifies, ocean acidification is becoming a ‘relentless killer’ threatening coral reef ecosystems. Recently, a research paper published in the international authoritative journal Research has revealed diverse survival strategies of reef-building corals in response to ocean acidification, providing a new perspective for understanding and protecting this fragile marine ecosystem.

New Arizona State University-led research findings from studying over two decades of satellite observations reveal that the Earth’s continents have experienced unprecedented freshwater loss since 2002, driven by climate change, unsustainable groundwater use and extreme droughts. The study highlights the emergence of four continental-scale “mega-drying” regions, all located in the northern hemisphere, and warns of severe consequences for water security, agriculture, sea level rise, and global stability. The research team reports that drying areas on land are expanding at a rate roughly twice the size of California every year. And, the rate at which dry areas are getting drier now outpaces the rate at which wet areas are getting wetter, reversing long-standing hydrological patterns. The negative implications of this for available freshwater are staggering. 75% of the world’s population lives in 101 countries that have been losing freshwater for the past 22 years.

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in the ocean.