Isophoric News · Sunday, October 18, 2026
Stanford researchers say bleached corals recovered fully in seven weeks after touching healthy clones
Stanford University researchers report that bleached corals recovered fully in seven weeks, the fastest documented recovery to date, after being placed in contact with healthy, genetically identical clones, KQED reported. The work was done on aquarium-sourced corals in a laboratory at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey County, according to KQED, which does not give the number of corals tested. KQED says the corals fused, forming a tissue bridge through which the healthy coral passed beneficial algae, and that only brief contact was needed; lead author Danny Collins called the result "shocking, stunning." Making a healthy clone of every wild coral is not feasible, KQED reports, so the team hopes to test algae-based methods at field sites in Hawaii and Palau in the coming months to years.
