4 . Time is running out for coral reefs as the climate gets hotter. So scientists are searching the globe for corals that are better at enduring heat, Now, new research shows how those “super corals” can survive: less roommate drama.

Reefs depend on a crucial partnership between the corals and the algae (海藻) that live in the corals’ tissue, The algae make food for the corals using sunlight and in exchange, get a nice spot to live. But when oceans heat up, that relationship goes bad, and the corals kick the algae out, Without their roommates, corals can die, turning a ghostly white, bleached (白化) color.

Still, some corals seem to resist bleaching better than others, A new study shows that those corals depend on algae that are better at tolerating heat. Researchers hope that pinpointing these abilities will help develop new conservation tools to preserve the world’s reefs as temperatures rise. About 1/4 of all marine life rely on coral reefs in some way, along with half 1 billion people around the world also depend on reefs for their food and livelihoods.

“Heat stress can kill a lot of corals really fast,” says Kate Quigley, a research scientist at James Cook University and the Minderoo Foundation in Australia. “I hope that nature does have some mechanisms to get us through the next few years while we get our act together.”

While the hope is that those algae could also aid in reef conservation in the future, researcher Patrick Buerger says it’s likely that it wouldn’t help all coral species. And even the toughest corals can only endure so much. Currently, the world is on track for just under 3degrees Celsius of warming by 2100, a level that would wipe out nearly all coral reefs.

“The action has to be on climate change,” he says. “This is a short-term solution that might buy some time for corals to adapt. But the main focus has to be on climate. There’s not a silver bullet to the problem.”

5 . Last summer, a team of 15 primary and middle school students did a research on the biodiversity (生物多样性) of a small wetland (湿地) in Wuhan’s Houxianghe Park. They observed and recorded the number of plant and animal species (物种) there and made suggestions for improvement.

During their field research, the team found that there were few fish in the wetland. After further study, they found that there were not enough plants in the wetland for fish and other animals to develop in large groups.

In the following courses, students worked together to create design drawings and make a wetland-recovering plan. Thanks to their efforts, the biodiversity of the wetland has been greatly improved.

“It’s very meaningful,” said a primary school student in Wuhan. “I have learned a lot about strange animals and plants, and have also seen the improvement of the wetland. I’ll take part in more activities like this. ”

“It’s not easy for children to have a connection to nature in the city,” said an expert. “We should make full use of the city’s wetland and encourage more children to get closer to nature through the ‘Park Classes’ programme.”

In the past six years, the programme has carried out over 3, 000 activities in Wuhan’s 32 parks. It inspires students from primary and middle schools to learn more about environmental protection, and helps them get close to nature, developing their ability to explore and take action.

7 . Warming seas across the globe are endangering coral reefs (珊瑚礁), a key ecosystem that supports marine life to live and thrive. As a possible way to save them from extinction, scientists have recently frozen and revived groups of adult corals for the first time, according to a recent study.

Freezing biological materials, or “cryopreserving” them, refers to keeping them in a deep freeze for long periods without affecting the cell’s viability (活性), according to the Science Times website.

This method usually cools them to very low temperatures, commonly to -196℃. Since cells would normally die at such a low temperature due to the formation of ice inside, scientists need to monitor the freezing rate and choose the freezing medium carefully.       

Researchers in the US experimented with freezing pea-sized pieces of a common coral in Hawaii. After removing the microbes on the corals, they sealed the corals in metal containers filled with a chemical solution that partially dehydrated (脱水) them and helped control ice growth.

When the corals reached a temperature of around -200℃, the remaining water in the corals solidified into a glassy form. The corals were still alive, with their life-driving functions becoming extremely slow. After being cryopreserved for a few minutes, the researchers pulled the corals out and placed them in warm water. In two minutes, they started consuming oxygen — a sign of them staying alive.

Previously, researchers had already successfully cryopreserved coral larvae (幼虫), according to a study in 2018. However, the larvae can only be collected when corals lay eggs, which happens just a few nights each year. “That’s putting a lot of eggs in one basket,” US marine scientist Liza Roger told Science News.

This breakthrough offers more hope to the world’s corals, said Roger. However, there’s more work to be done. A few days after thawing (解冻), the corals became “stressed out” from the process and were killed by the bacteria they normally live in harmony with. The researchers are working on using antibiotics to help them survive for a longer period of time.

10 . The Twenty-three-year-old Mumbai girl Vidhi Bubna is offering India’s first and only diving grant to explore the marine ecosystem.

Vidhi’s first diving experience turned out to be a heartbreaking one. While she expected a lot of colors underwater as she had seen on TV, Vidhi came across all white corals (珊瑚), which means they are almost dead from being bleached (褪色).

“It was very sad and I just started crying after coming out of the water,” she says.

Vidhi, an economics graduate from Ashoka University, did not enjoy working with numbers and turned to writing about social issues, including women’s rights and minority issues.

As an adventure lover, Vidhi went diving to explore the underwater beauty last year. Her disappointment at seeing dying corals led to the start of Coral Warriors, anon-profit organization that aims to raise awareness of marine protection and climate change.

“Nobody knows about climate change till they see it,” Vidhi says. The Mumbai-based organisation offers India’s first and only diving grant. The grant sponsors level-one scuba diving education in any location of their choice in India. While there is no specific standard, Vidhi says the selection process is strict, choosing candidates who are passionate about climate change and seeing that they do something of their choice. Four candidates have been awarded the grant so far and the organisation hopes to find at least five people every year.

“After the candidates return, we expect them to work on a climate change project of their choice, create communities, and work to create awareness and drive action-centric projects,” she explains.

Prior to starting coral warriors, Vidhi was hosting free online workshops to spread awareness of marine biodiversity and climate change, and has reached about 5, 000 people through them.

As a next step, Vidhi is planning to work on documentaries with high-quality underwater images and videos, considering not many can afford or have the courage to go diving to see what is happening underwater.