A simple touch can bring dying corals back to life in just 7 weeks

Scientists have discovered that severely bleached corals can make a remarkable comeback simply by touching healthy, genetically identical corals. In laboratory experiments, dying corals regained their color and fully recovered within seven weeks, with as little as five days of contact sometimes enough to start the healing process. A simple touch can bring dying corals back to life in just 7 weeks.

A simple touch can bring dying corals back to life in just 7 weeks Science News from research organizations A simple touch can bring dying corals back to life in just 7 weeks Scientists discovered that dying corals can recover in record time simply by touching healthy clones, opening a promising new path to saving threatened reefs. In laboratory experiments, corals that had turned white and were close to dying regained their health within seven weeks. According to a study published on October 14 in Science Advances, this represents the fastest documented recovery from coral bleaching.

The discovery could lead to new techniques for restoring coral reefs, which some estimates suggest could disappear within decades as climate change fuels increasingly severe and frequent marine heat waves. Coral bleaching occurs when rising ocean temperatures cause corals to lose the beneficial algae living inside their tissues. These algae supply much of the energy corals depend on for growth and survival.

Without them, corals lose their vibrant colors, struggle to obtain enough nourishment, and become more susceptible to harmful algae.