Taiwanese and US marine biologists have solved a major scientific puzzle on the bioluminescent color changes seen during the life cycles of coral, and the findings might be used to find ways to protect human skin from damage by ultraviolet rays.
In a research collaboration between the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (NMMBA) and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, California, scientists found that coral fluorescence changes from green in larvae to cyan in adult colonies.
According to Fan Tung-yun (樊同雲), co-author of the research report, ultraviolet radiation is harmful to coral and leads to coral bleaching and can even kill reef colonies.
Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium
Past studies determined that coral have fluorescent proteins in their cells, which absorb higher-energy light and emit fluorescent light in a lower energy field, but the changes in life development and its associated behavior had not yet been fully explained, Fan said.
For the collaboration, the museum harvested newborn stony coral larvae (Seriatopora hystrix) in waters off Kenting’s South Bay (南灣) and raised them in an aquarium.
The paper — titled Life History Changes in Coral Fluorescence and the Effects of Light Intensity on Larval Physiology and Settlement in Seriatopora hystrix — was co-authored by Fan and US counterparts, M.S. Roth and Dimitri Deheyn.
The scientists subjected newborn larvae, growing larvae and adult polyps to varying wavelengths of light radiation, including ultraviolet, blue and cyan-colored lights.
Results indicated that the change in fluorescence from green in larvae to cyan in adult colonies can be attributed to physiological traits, and the fluorescent protein is affected by environmental conditions, heat stress, as well as differences in light levels and wavelengths.
“The fluorescent proteins have a varying protective effect during the coral’s life cycle. It is likely correlated with the fact that planktonic larvae float near the ocean’s surface [and are more exposed to sunlight] while adult polyps are anchored on the seafloor at some depth [and are thus more protected],” Fan said.
“Our discovery might benefit research into the protection of human skin from ultraviolet radiation. Scientists may be able to develop new types of sun screens or protective suits to guard against solar radiation and offer people greater protection,” he added.
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
RSS