Scientists Freeze Great Barrier Reef Coral
2022-12-26
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1Scientists working on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have successfully tested a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae.
2 Larvae are the very young form of the small ocean animal.
3Coral creates reefs, structures in the ocean that support entire ecosystems.
4However, climate change is threatening the existence of such reefs.
5The science project in Australia involves freezing and storing coral larvae to use later for rewilding.
6A new material called "cryomesh" is helping the scientists in the effort.
7Coral is frozen using a special method called cryogenics.
8This permits the young animals to be stored until they can be unfrozen and placed in the wild.
9The process currently requires high-tech equipment including lasers and is costly.
10But, the team in Australia says cryomesh can do a better job of saving the coral and for much less money.
11The scientists used the cryomesh to freeze Great Barrier Reef coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, or AIMS.
12Workers collected the coral during the animal's brief yearly reproductive period.
13Mary Hagedorn is Senior Research Scientist at Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She spoke with Reuters from the AIMS laboratory.
14She explained, "If we can secure the biodiversity of coral ... then we'll have tools for the future to really help restore the reefs."
15She added, "...this technology for coral reefs in the future is a real game-changer."
16The cryomesh had been tested earlier on smaller and larger kinds of Hawaiian corals.
17A test on the larger failed.
18Tests are continuing with larger-size Great Barrier Reef coral.
19The tests involved scientists from several organizations, including AIMS, the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
20Together they are part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
21The mesh technology helps to store coral larvae at -196 degrees Celsius.
22The University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering developed the material.
23The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events in the last seven years.
24This includes the first ever bleach during a La Nina weather event, which usually bring cooler temperatures.
25Coral bleaching happens when extreme temperatures and sunlight force corals to release algae living in their tissue.
26This causes them to lose their color and turn white.
27The experience greatly weakens the coral and can kill them.
28I'm Anna Matteo.
1Scientists working on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have successfully tested a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae. Larvae are the very young form of the small ocean animal. 2Coral creates reefs, structures in the ocean that support entire ecosystems. However, climate change is threatening the existence of such reefs. 3The science project in Australia involves freezing and storing coral larvae to use later for rewilding. A new material called "cryomesh" is helping the scientists in the effort. 4Coral is frozen using a special method called cryogenics. This permits the young animals to be stored until they can be unfrozen and placed in the wild. 5The process currently requires high-tech equipment including lasers and is costly. But, the team in Australia says cryomesh can do a better job of saving the coral and for much less money. 6The scientists used the cryomesh to freeze Great Barrier Reef coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, or AIMS. Workers collected the coral during the animal's brief yearly reproductive period. 7Mary Hagedorn is Senior Research Scientist at Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She spoke with Reuters from the AIMS laboratory. 8She explained, "If we can secure the biodiversity of coral ... then we'll have tools for the future to really help restore the reefs." She added, "...this technology for coral reefs in the future is a real game-changer." 9The cryomesh had been tested earlier on smaller and larger kinds of Hawaiian corals. A test on the larger failed. 10Tests are continuing with larger-size Great Barrier Reef coral. 11The tests involved scientists from several organizations, including AIMS, the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia. Together they are part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. 12The mesh technology helps to store coral larvae at -196 degrees Celsius. The University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering developed the material. 13The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events in the last seven years. This includes the first ever bleach during a La Nina weather event, which usually bring cooler temperatures. 14Coral bleaching happens when extreme temperatures and sunlight force corals to release algae living in their tissue. This causes them to lose their color and turn white. The experience greatly weakens the coral and can kill them. 15I'm Anna Matteo. 16Jill Gralow reported this story and Lewis Jackson wrote it for Reuters news agency. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17______________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19larvae - n. an early form of any animal that at birth or hatching is very different from its parents 20biodiversity - n. the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem 21game-changer - n. a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way 22algae - n. any plant or plantlike organism (as a seaweed) that includes forms mostly growing in water, lacking a system of vessels for carrying fluids, and often having chlorophyll masked by brown or red coloring matter 23____________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Write your comment in the box. 27Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. 28Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.