Prior research at the MBL has shown that squid and octopus display an extraordinarily high rate of RNA editing, which diversifies the kinds of proteins that the animals can produce. To follow up on that finding, Albertin et al. sequenced RNA from 26 different tissues in Doryteuthis and looked RNA editing rates across the different tissues.
Cuttlefish were given a new version of the marshmallow test, and the results appeared to demonstrate that there's more going on in their strange little brains than we knew.
Researchers are using probiotics on coral to counter disease. Corals grown in aquaculture have high mortality rates. Other scientists say successful coral transplants will only buy time and that greater action on climate change is needed. A project investigating the possibility comes at a time when reef restoration efforts to address Great Barrier Reef challenges such as salinity, runoff, fishing, and climate change are in the spotlight.
For three decades, researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have scoured the bay's depths with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), finding many wondrous beasties, including several species of dragonfish. However, the highfin dragonfish has proven to be the most elusive. This particular fish was found at a depth of 980 feet (300 meters). The highfin dragonfish is the rarest species in this deep-sea group.
A recent study found that sharks visited urban areas due to easy access to food waste, leftover fish from a nearby aquarium being dumped into the ocean, and runoff creating bottom-up food webs.