Scientists from Florida’s Mote Tropical Research Laboratory have discovered a technique to grow corals for transplantation 25 to 50 times faster than they would one their own. The technique is known as micro-fragmenting and may help to re-grow corals to transplant onto dead or dying reefs that took centuries to develop.

Scientists the world over have been transplanting faster growing corals like staghorn and other branching corals, but slow growing encrusting corals like brain, star and boulder have proved more difficult as they only grow up to two inches a year. This technique is promising in restoring destroyed coral reefs, and scientists like Dr. Vaughn think, “This potentially can be a fix.”

Read the full article here.