Ocean Life
A Mighty Mysterious Molecule
What gives sea air its distinctive scent? A chemical compound called dimethylsulfide. In a new study, WHOI scientists show that the compound may also be used by marine microbes to communicate with one another.
Recipes for Antibiotic Resistance
MIT-WHOI graduate student Megan May is investigating how microbes naturally develop resistance to antibiotic compounds…
Seal Whiskers Inspire Marine Technology
The night approaches quickly. A harbor seal plunges into the water, diving deep as the…
HABCAM
A towed underwater vehicle equipped with cameras, sonar, and sensors paints vivid portraits of life…
Sex, Games, and the Evolution of Gender Gaps
Population models can help us plan breeding programs for endangered species and understand the evolution…
Specks in the Spectrometer
Mass spectrometer facilities can be a rite of passage for scientists—as well as for the…
Epiphany Among the Manta Rays
There's a great need to collect ocean temperature data. And there are millions of scuba…
Forecasting the Future of Fish
How can we weigh all the interrelated factors involved in managing a critical ocean resource?…
Setting a Watchman for Harmful Algal Blooms
As harmful algal blooms are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide, researchers in the lab…
The Man Who Opened Our Ears to the Ocean
Over his long career at WHOI, Bill Watkins pioneered new instruments to collect sounds of…
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…
Short-circuiting the Biological Pump
The ocean has been sucking up the heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) building up in our…
Coral Crusader
Graduate student Hannah Barkley is on a mission to investigate how warming ocean temperatures, ocean…
A Green Thumb for Ocean Microbes
Anyone who has tried to grow orchids or keep a bonsai tree alive will tell…
Sand, Seals, and Solitude
In high school, students interested in art or science often diverge into separate fields. For…
A Telescope to Peer into the Vast Ocean
There are more single-celled plankton in the ocean than stars in the universe. A new…
New Use for Well-known Algae
A curious chemical compound in certain marine algae has been a godsend for oceanographers, helping…
One Algae, Two Fuels
New research shows a way to tap overlooked fats in marine algae to produce compounds…
Jet Fuel from Algae?
New research shows a way to tap overlooked fats in marine algae to produce compounds…
Hidden Battles on the Reefs
A new study led by WHOI scientists shows how changing ocean conditions can combine to…
Bringing a Lab to the Seafloor
Scientists can't really know if new oceanographic instruments will really work until they try them…
Trouble in the Tropics
An MIT-WHOI graduate student is on the trail of marine toxins that accumulate in fish…
From Lab to Sea
Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution share their field-tested experience, training graduate students on methods…
Big Questions About Tiny Bacteria
It’s 3 a.m., and Jesse McNichol is struggling to stay awake. Since midafternoon, he’s been…