Ocean life
New Use for Well-known Algae
A curious chemical compound in certain marine algae has been a godsend for oceanographers, helping them reconstruct past ocean conditions. Now the same compounds also may be useful in a completely different way: to produce jet fuel.
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…
Coral-Current Connections
Will climate change shift a key ocean current in the Pacific? A graduate student is…
It’s Hard to Kill a Killifish
Summer Student Fellow Lily Helfrich is using a new molecular tool, microRNA analysis, to explore…
On the Trail of an Invader
To find out when and how fast a small gray barnacle came to New England…
Scallops Under Stress
Like other marine species, scallops face multiple climate change-related problems. Summer Student Fellow Cailan Sugano…
Proteomics Reveals Ocean’s Inner Workings
In a new study, WHOI scientists have demonstrated how the emerging biomedical technique of measuring…
From Penguins to Polar Bears
Polar ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change. They are also notably hard to study…
A Haven for Whale Sharks
Scientists discovered an aggregation of juvenile whale sharks in the Red Sea and used satellite…
Alvin‘s Animals
From orange octopi and furry yeti crabs to the largest known anemone, pilots and scientists…
Uncovering the Ocean’s Biological Pump
Dan Ohnemus clearly remembers the highlight of his fourth-grade class in Bourne, Mass. He and…
Drug Discovery in the Ocean
WHOI scientists are investigating a wide range of unexplored microbes that produce chemicals with potential…
Cystic Fibrosis
Illustration by Eric Taylor, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The Mesocosm Lab
A mesocosm is an ecosystem in miniature, providing a useful middle ground between an indoor…
Mysterious Jellyfish Makes a Comeback
In July 2013, Mary Carman, a researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was diving in…
WHOI CSI Lab Investigates Rare Whales
Two seldomly seen deep-diving whales called True's beaked whales were found dead on a beach…
What Causes the Atlantic to Bloom?
Every spring, waters in the North Atlantic Ocean explode into green and white patches as…
Lush Life, Deep Down
Scientists find an active ecosystem of bacteria, archaea, and fungi in the sediments far beneath…