Marine Microbes
A coral reef kickstart
WHOI’s Reef Solutions Initiative takes a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate solutions for ailing coral reefs
Junk Food
An estimated eight million tons of plastics enter our oceans each year, yet only one…
A Lobster Trap for Microbes
What if you wanted to observe what microbes in the ocean are doing? First, you…
The Unseen World on Coral Reefs
We have learned that microbial communities on and within us—a microbiome—keep people healthy. Corals reefs…
The Recipe for a Harmful Algal Bloom
Harmful algal blooms can produce toxins that accumulate in shellfish and cause health problems and…
The Bacteria on Your Beaches
The widespread use of antibiotics is increasing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria—perhaps into the ocean,…
Scientists Reveal Secrets of Whales
Researchers have known for decades that whales create elaborate songs. But a new study has…
In the Gardens of the Queen
An unprecedented research cruise investigated one of the most beautiful and unexplored coral reefs in…
The Amazing Acquired Phototroph!
There are autotrophs, such as plants, that can make their own food. There are heterotrophs,…
What Happened to Deepwater Horizon Oil?
Officials pumped a huge amount of chemicals into the deep ocean during the 2010 Deepwater…
New Device Reveals What Ocean Microbes Do
Whether you’re a plant, animal, or even a microbe, you generally can’t conduct the business…
Life Dwells Deep Within Earth’s Crust
Aboard a drillship in the Indian Ocean, geologists pursued their mission to bore a hole…
Can Animals Live Without Oxygen?
In 2010, a research team garnered headlines when it published evidence of finding the first…
Mummified Microbes
Scientists have found evidence that microbes can thrive deep below the seafloor—sustained by chemicals produced…
Endangered Whales Get a High-Tech Check-Up
Drones seem to be everywhere these days, from backyards to battlegrounds. Scientists are using them…
Journey Into the Ocean’s Microbiomes
Bacteria in the ocean, including pathogenic ones, often hitchhike on tiny crustaceans called copepods. A…
Two Chemical Roads Diverge in an Open Ocean
An infographicon biomineralization
Minerals Made by Microbes
Some minerals actually don't form without a little help from microscopic organisms, using chemical processes…
A Mighty Mysterious Molecule
What gives sea air its distinctive scent? A chemical compound called dimethylsulfide. In a new…
Recipes for Antibiotic Resistance
MIT-WHOI graduate student Megan May is investigating how microbes naturally develop resistance to antibiotic compounds…
An Appetite Stimulant for Bacteria in the Ocean
PUAs kick bacteria’s metabolism and CO2 respiration rates into hyperdrive—ike skinny weightlifters after a steroid…
A Green Thumb for Ocean Microbes
Anyone who has tried to grow orchids or keep a bonsai tree alive will tell…
A Telescope to Peer into the Vast Ocean
There are more single-celled plankton in the ocean than stars in the universe. A new…
Big Questions About Tiny Bacteria
It’s 3 a.m., and Jesse McNichol is struggling to stay awake. Since midafternoon, he’s been…