Coral

Xenia umbellata. Courtesy of researchers from Tel Aviv and Haifa Universities.

Israeli study: Soft coral performs rhythmic movement without a central brain

A distributed neural “pacemaker” system has been discovered in the Red Sea Xenia umbellata: each arm beats independently but synchronizes with the others; the findings were published in PNAS and may change the understanding of rhythmic movement in evolution
Sea anemone. Prof. Lior Appelbaum and Prof. Oren Levy, Bar Ilan University

Why do we sleep anyway? The surprising answer that comes from the sea

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Researchers from Bar-Ilan University have succeeded in deciphering the ancient sleep mechanism and reveal that sleep protects nerve cells.
Coral reef | Credit: Maoz Fine

Corals in the Gulf of Eilat withstood an unprecedented marine heat wave and remained stable

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International study led by researchers from the Hebrew University reveals that Eilat corals survived four years of heat waves, including 30 DHW in the summer of 2024 – the highest in the world; spot bleaching observed for the first time in shallow waters
Global warming is causing stony corals, which already live at the edge of their suitable temperature range, to exceed their tolerance threshold. Corals in Eilat. Photo: Tom Schlesinger

Stony Corals: Reef Builders and Guardians of the Underwater World

Dr. Tom Schlesinger explains how tiny, fragile creatures create vast ecosystems, why they are sensitive to the climate crisis, and how childhood in Eilat led him to explore one of the great secrets of the sea.
Corals in the Red Sea. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Gifts from the Sea: Molecules from the Coral Sea Could Change the Way We Fight Resistant Bacteria

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Researchers at Ben-Gurion University have discovered natural molecules produced by bacteria living on corals in Eilat that reduce the violence of pathogenic bacteria and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics – without the need to kill the bacteria.
Eilat national monitoring survey photos - Kadrit - Interuniversity Institute

The coral reef in Eilat is in a very sad state

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This figure appears in the annual report of the National Monitoring Program of the Bay of Eilat for the year 2023 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection; The report indicates that the sea level continues to warm at a rate 2.5 times higher than the average
Studying the reproductive timing of corals. The image was prepared using DALEE and should not be considered a scientific image

Citi coral and village coral

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Prof. Oren Levy researches the timing of the reproduction of corals around the world and is surprised by Dioc. However the biological clock of the corals is not adapted to the volume lights
Soft corals of the Dendronaphtia species, which are common in the Eilat and Red Sea region, were found at a depth of 42 meters in the Mediterranean Sea. Photo: Hagai Nativ, Morris Kahn Sea Research Station

Corals from the Red Sea have invaded Israel's Mediterranean coast

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Until now, the low temperatures of the Mediterranean water in winter have been a barrier to the arrival of tropical corals. The establishment of the Dendronaphtia we found indicates that at least last winter, the waters of the Mediterranean Sea were warmer than before
Bacterial cells before phage infection (left) and after (right). The virus replicates itself inside them and leads to the explosion of the cells and the spilling of their contents (in red - the bacterial DNA spilled from the cell)

Survive with 0% battery: an immune system that drains the cell of energy has been discovered

The new system was discovered in bacteria - but is also used in corals, bees and others
His groundbreaking research on corals and his environmental struggles to preserve them positioned Levia as one of the most respected researchers in Israel and the world. Photography: David Salem, Josip Productions

The researcher who fell in love with the coral reefs - and became a fighter for their preservation

A Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded as part of the 51st Annual Science and Environment Conference to Prof. Yossi Levia. In a celebratory interview, he talks about his love for the profession, the corals and the researchers who grew up in his laboratory - and also warns:
"Within two days a healthy hedgehog turns into a tissueless skeleton." Black sea urchin dying

The coral reef in Eilat is in real danger

A deadly plague wiped out all the black sea urchins in the Gulf of Eilat within a few months and threatens to collapse the coral reef
Coral reef in the Red Sea. Image: depositphotos.com

The heavy price that corals may pay due to climate change

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Global warming affects life in the sea in many ways when it causes a decrease in dissolved oxygen in the ocean water on the one hand, and on the other hand, an increase in the metabolism of the marine animals, which further increases
Glowing corals in the depths of the sea.

The sophisticated methods of the corals to organize a meal for themselves even in the depths of the sea

Researchers have discovered that corals also glow at depth to lure their prey
The hunting arms of coral Dipsastraea favus. Photography: Or Ben Zvi

Researchers at the Technion and Tel Aviv University have deciphered the sophisticated movement pattern of the coral's arms

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The coral reef in the Gulf of Eilat at sunset. Photo: Tom Schlesinger

Damage to the reproductive mechanisms of several species of corals in the Gulf of Eilat endangers their continued existence

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algae. It still needs to be proven that platinum protects the human skin even outside the sterile laboratory. Photograph: Gugulethu Mhlanga.

Is the sunscreen of the future hiding in algae?

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Most types of corals can only exist at depths where sunlight penetrates. Photo: National Park Service.

The corals reveal: the sea will rise, and quickly

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Picture of the coral Possiliphora. The red color comes from the cooperative algae that live with the coral. Photo: Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Ocean under the microscope

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Bleaching continues until the coral is freed from the stress and acceleration resumes, unless too long passes and then it dies. Photo: Coral CoE

The White Barrier Reef

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Coral reef. Photo: shutterstock

A tiny aquarium makes it possible to study the effect of climate change on microscopic processes in corals

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A coral reef damaged by global warming and toxins. Photo: shutterstock

Research: Sunscreen - danger to corals

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A coral colony off the coast of Mexico. Photo: shutterstock

The coral world is more exciting than we thought

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A coral reef and the fish that live near it in the Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt. Photo: shutterstock

The habitat of the fish is more important than the environment in which it is found

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Silent prayer - one of the underwater sculptures installed in the coral reef in Cancun. Photo: shutterstock

The art of diversion / Eric Vance

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A healthy coral (left) exposed to the substances present in sunscreen preparations turns white (right) after the death of the symbiotic algae that lived inside it. Photo: Roberto Danovaro

Anti coral cream

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Nancy Knowlton, Chief Marine Biologist at the Smithsonian Institution and Museum of Nature in Washington

In the short term, the fishing must be regulated and the pollution of the sea with sewage must be stopped. In the long term, to save life in the sea, carbon emissions must be stopped

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Polyps photo: US Atmospheric and Oceanic Agency

A romantic sunset / Rebecca Kofei

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Spotted salamander. From Wikipedia

Trade in protected animals online

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

A coral reef acts as a radiation filter

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The forgotten acid in seawater

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The coral planters from Ben Gurion University make the marine wilderness bloom

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

coral reefs. It could be worse…

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Ben Gurion's Eilat campus helps save corals from fish farms

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Fighting global warming with the help of marine vegetation

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Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Corals reveal ancient origins of human genes

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