Climate change has wreaked havoc on coral reefs around the world, causing them to turn white in “bleaching events” that are conventionally seen as the death knell for these crucial ecosystems. The process occurs after the living organisms expel tiny symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, which live in their tissues and represent a major source of food. While technically not dead, bleached coral is more susceptible disease — and a harbinger to demise from starvation. But thanks to a fortunate lab accident, Stanford University scientists may have just stumbled upon a…
