Astro Hacker News - Bleached corals thrive within days when touching healthy neighbour

anakaine |next [-]

Having been a diver on the Great Barrier Reef numerous times, the scale of bleaching events means that there is often no non-bleached neighbour for vast distances. Healthy propagation rarely occurs before the brown sludge sets in, then its game over.

verelo |root |parent [-]

This kills me. I saw the reef for the first time around 2007. I went back twice, and the last time I was there (2017) I honestly couldn't believe what I saw. Wasteland? An under water desert? I don't have words for it, but I don't really want to go back because it hit me so hard. Our planet is dying and we're sitting here debating why/who and not doing anywhere near enough to fix it.

I'm so glad we have space rockets, flying cars and drone warfare...but I'd trade it all in for the reef to come back.

ryandrake |root |parent |next [-]

> Our planet is dying and we're sitting here debating why/who and not doing anywhere near enough to fix it.

If only we were just debating why/who! Thanks to Social Media, filter bubbles, and “alternative facts,” we are back to debating whether it is actually even happening or not.

Nux |root |parent |previous [-]

"The planet is fine, the people are fscked!"

Henchman21 |root |parent [-]

"The Industrial Revolution and it's consequences have been a disaster for the human race -- and every other living being on the planet as well."

nomel |next |previous [-]

> This incredible new result

Only if you've never talked to anyone remotely involved with propagating coral, including those in the saltwater fish-tank community!

dcrazy |root |parent [-]

I remember hearing that the concern with our best techniques for rescuing coral reefs is that they would create a monoculture, and monocultures tend to be very susceptible to specific diseases.

Okkef |next |previous [-]

Only if they are clones - genetically identical. So not much use in practice, unfortunately.

smallerize |root |parent |next [-]

I think the article says they just haven't tested other cases. I wouldn't expect the symbiotic microalgae to be that picky.

Edit - The article makes Okkef's point, I just missed it.

ceejayoz |root |parent [-]

The article says otherwise.

> Fragments from different species and even different animals of the same species did not fuse together, and so did not nurse the bleached piece back to health.

kulahan |root |parent |next |previous [-]

Sounds like a solution is still well within our reach. Normally I wouldn’t suggest something as extreme as using cloning techniques to restore wild creatures, but of course it was extreme actions that got us here in the first place, so I think this balances it out.

deadbabe |root |parent [-]

We don’t use cloning enough IMO.

linuskendall |root |parent [-]

We use cloning plenty - most fruits we eat are clones, and it has some drawbacks (see Cavendish bananas).

idontwantthis |root |parent |previous [-]

We could create a bank of coral clones tagged to each individual location.

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fosterfriends |next |previous [-]

Some good news :) anything to bring back coral reefs

0c3ca83 |root |parent [-]

Anything but reducing the amount of fossil fuels we burn.

kylehotchkiss |next |previous [-]

My first thought when reading the headline... horizontal gene transfer?

socraticnoise |next |previous [-]

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chiefwilsion |next |previous [-]

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asjkff |previous [-]

Could this also, have anything to do with, Nikola Tesla's resonance theory on dark matter and consciousness, in play in living matter?

More intelligent individuals should look more into this field.

aappleby |root |parent |next [-]

No. Tesla's resonance theory has nothing to do with dark matter, consciousness, or living matter.

tcdent |root |parent |next |previous [-]

I'm all about the concepts you're presenting, but care to elaborate on how you think the corals relate?

asjkff |root |parent [-]

Disclaimer: I am still finding my way in life, so take this theory with a grain of salt.

New age movement, claim everything on earth is actually a hologram of the universe, experiencing itself.

So perhaps, just being in close proximity with another coral, the hologram frequency was now more in tuned.

rbn3 |root |parent |next [-]

Since you mentioned you’re still finding your way in life: please be aware that the appeal of a lot of new age and „woo“ is that the act of noticing a pattern in nature, that feeling of „aaah NOW it makes sense“ is inherently pleasant and can become something you chase like a drug. These frameworks or schools of thought can provide a steady source of that feeling without necessarily being tethered to reality at all. Kind of like acid - very fun at times but catastrophic if you make it a core part of your identity.

hmokiguess |root |parent |previous [-]

Why would the frequency of the healthy one win over the frequency of the non-healthy one though? I assume both would have their own frequencies, are you implying there's an order or tendency across frequencies?

asjkff |root |parent [-]

Same reason, stem cells repair damage body cells, I guess.

I am just glad coral can repair themselves.

Thumbs up to the researcher.

hmokiguess |root |parent [-]

I am just trying to understand your ideas and riff on them

Cells are complex organisms and contain programming in their nature so we can more easily trace and understand its reasons

A frequency is something a lot more raw than a cell

asjkff |root |parent [-]

I will repeat this for the last time. I am not an expert in the field.

"programming in their nature" means they have a range of frequency, like a radio? perharps.

Nevertheless, thumbs up to the researcher. Positive vibes.

patmorgan23 |root |parent |next |previous [-]

No that's ridiculous woo woo. It's just that some of the symbiotic algae from the healthy coral transfer over to feed and revive the sick coral.

clockwork-grape |root |parent |previous [-]

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