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Mongabay

In a quiet lab at Phuket Rajabhat University, the work looks simple. A sealed vial, a cold tank, a set of notes. But what scientists are trying to preserve inside that tank is something far larger than a single specimen. They are freezing coral larvae and the symbiotic algae that keep corals alive, hoping to create what they call a living seed bank for Thailand’s reefs.

The timing could not be more urgent. Thailand’s reefs, home to more than 300 coral species, have endured repeated mass bleaching since 2022. Surveys show structural loss and shifts in which species dominate, driven by extreme heat and compounded by tourism, wastewater, sedimentation and overfishing.

Coral cryobanks offer a form of genetic insurance. They preserve the building blocks of future reefs, but scientists emphasize that they do not replace the need for healthy oceans. Any frozen material will need a viable coastal habitat to return to.

Inside the lab, molecular biologist Preeyanuch Thongpoo works on freezing live larvae and algae at -196 Celsius. Suspended in liquid nitrogen are microscopic algae from the cauliflower coral, Pocillopora, part of the Symbiodiniaceae family. These algae, no bigger than dust, supply most of the energy corals use to survive. Larvae from the same coral species, known for recolonizing heat-damaged reefs, are preserved in separate vials.

Working under the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform, or CORDAP, Preeyanuch is building a repository meant to support future restoration efforts. It comes at a moment when Thailand’s reefs are being hit faster than they can recover.

Tourism, a pillar of the coastal economy, has added pressure. High levels of diving and snorkeling have been linked to coral breakage, abrasion and increased disease. Boats damage shallow reefs through anchoring and propeller wash. Along the coast, development has sent more sediment and nutrients into the water. Runoff from resorts and infrastructure increases algal growth and reduces coral resilience during heat waves.

Traditional restoration has relied on replanting coral fragments, but bleaching events have accelerated so quickly that these interventions struggle to keep pace.

Thailand’s cryobank facility, established in June 2025, responds to the possibility that some reefs may not withstand current stresses. Veteran researcher Chiahsin Lin, who trains scientists across the region, describes cryobanks as “ex situ conservation,” a way to store material and “point them back” once environmental conditions improve. Based on climate projections, he says “all coral species are endangered,” making broad genetic archiving necessary.

“To ensure we have a complete genetic library that can be used for future restoration efforts, we must consider all these groups of corals,” Preeyanuch says.

Keystone reef builders act as the architects of reef habitat. Massive corals tend to be more tolerant of bleaching and storms, while branching corals recolonize damaged reefs quickly but are highly sensitive to heat. The aim is to preserve diversity that can support reefs capable of withstanding a warmer ocean.

Despite its promise, Lin cautions that cryopreservation is not a solution on its own. Every coral species presents a different technical challenge. Progress is slow, while reef loss is rapid. He says that regional cooperation, long-term funding and integration with broader conservation strategies are essential.

Petch Manopawitr, adviser to WildAid and a Thai conservation scientist, describes the approach as “a long-term genetic insurance policy.” Increasing genetic diversity in restoration programs is “very, very important,” he says, especially when many projects still depend on fragmentation and cloning.

But he warns that cryobanking must be part of “real world conservation.” It will not work “unless we have fixed all [the] environmental issue[s] that degraded the reef in the first place.” He cites water quality, unsustainable tourism, anchor damage, sedimentation and fishing pressure as core issues that need attention alongside climate change.

“So I think cryobank[ing] is a good, definitely a good project, but it has to be plugged in, in the whole picture,” he says.

That picture includes local communities. Petch says coastal residents and small-scale fishers are increasingly interested in protecting marine ecosystems. Community-led conservation areas are gaining support, aligning with national policies while giving local people a direct role in protection. “It’s something that allows people, local people, to become part of a solution,” he says.

Climate projections show that many of the world’s reefs could decline sharply by 2050, but Petch argues that resignation is not an option. Cryobanking is useful “as an insurance,” he says, but no archive can replicate the ecological services reefs provide.

The Phuket facility faced challenges in its first year, especially keeping broodstock corals alive long enough to collect viable larvae. Preeyanuch says her team has refined its husbandry systems and is updating protocols while seeking funding for a second year.

While she acknowledges that frozen larvae alone cannot rebuild reefs at today’s scale of loss, she says the work is essential. It is, she says, “the genetic heart of the restoration effort,” preserving traits that future reefs will need. By collecting larvae during short spawning windows and storing them for decades, she says the cryobank “buys us crucial time,” even as she warns that without healthy oceans, it risks becoming “a storage unit for extinction.”

A Coral Cryobank In Thailand is Working To Preserve Dying Reefs — Here's How

Good News Network

A small dog in the Scottish Highlands ended up needing the kind of rescue usually reserved for humans on distant ridgelines. Aggie, a 5-year-old spaniel, spent a night alone in a hollow below the summit of Fionn Bheinn after falling through a cornice during a group hike.

Five dogs and four hikers were making their way toward the top near Achnasheen when the snow beneath them gave way. Cornices, which are large buildups of wind-packed snow that hang over the edges of steep slopes, can look solid from above. Four of the dogs were pulled back to safety right away. Aggie was not one of them. She slipped out of sight and could not be found.

By the next morning, the Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team joined Aggie’s owner and a local deer stalker to search the area.

Once the team reached the spot where she fell, it became clear what had happened. A rescuer was lowered by rope into a hollow beneath the cornice. Aggie was waiting there, unharmed after a night roughly 900 metres up in freezing conditions, and she was thrilled to see someone.

Team leader Iain Nesbitt told the BBC that “the incident highlighted the risks posed by cornices.” He added that “the ledges of snow form in strong winds and overhang the edges of steep slopes and can be difficult to spot.”

Aggie was returned to her owner soon after the rescue. What started as a routine winter hike ended as a reminder that even familiar mountains can hide surprises, and sometimes it is the dogs who need the mountaineers.

Hiker Rescues Lost Dog in Unexpected Mountain Rescue Twist

Sunny Skyz

What began as a heartbreaking loss for a Pennsylvania woman ended as a cross-country mystery with a near-impossible twist.

Cindy Ware of Chester County had been sick over the disappearance of her diamond, a stone passed through her late husband’s family for decades. At some point, months earlier, it had simply vanished from her ring. “I still don’t believe it. It’s in my purse now but I still don’t believe it,” she said after finally holding it again.

She had no idea where it could have gone. Hundreds of miles away, her neighbor and friend, Coleman, was on vacation in Florida. While slipping on his water shoes for the beach and the pool, something in the sole caught his eye. “Went down there, wore them, wore them on the beach, to the pool and when I saw it in my shoe, I assumed I picked it up in Florida, probably at the pool,” he said.

The tiny stone was lodged perfectly in the tread of his shoe. He figured it was fake. Maybe glass. Maybe costume jewelry. Still, he stopped by a jeweler in Fort Lauderdale just to check. That decision changed the whole story.

“He said, ‘Yes, it’s a diamond from the 50s or 60s. An older cut, nice coloring.’ And said ‘this is a good piece of jewelry,’” Coleman recalled. Stunned, he posted a photo on Facebook, joking about his unusual find.

Within minutes, someone from back home recognized it. A friend in the Kendal Crosslands Community told him it looked exactly like the diamond Cindy had lost.

On Valentine’s Day, the mystery finally snapped into place. Cindy believes the stone likely fell out during one of her pool exercise classes. Coleman, who plays water volleyball in the same pool, must have stepped on it at the perfect angle, embedding it into the sole of his shoe. It stayed there unnoticed through his entire Florida trip.

“A diamond in a swimming pool to be found at all is impossible,” Cindy said. “Too many things to have happened just right for me to even know where it was or how it was saved on that shoe.”

The two were already neighbors, already friends. Now they share a once-in-a-lifetime story — and a reminder that sometimes lost treasures do find their way home.

“To be able to add even a little bit more happiness there,” Coleman said, “Well, that’s really swell.”

Pennsylvania Man Discovers Neighbor's Lost Family Diamond During a Florida Vacation

A Chicago man is being praised for an act of courage he never planned for. Lio Cundiff jumped into Lake Michigan to save an 8 month old baby in a stroller after a strong gust of wind blew her into Belmont Harbor on Wednesday afternoon. He did it despite one major obstacle.

He does not know how to swim.

Chicago police said the stroller was pushed into the water around 3 p.m. Cundiff heard the mother screaming and reacted instantly. He leapt in after the stroller, grabbed the baby and tried to keep both of them afloat.

“We dipped a couple times,” he told CBS News Chicago from his hospital bed. “There was… there was one moment where I was like, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna hold on, so, like, I just kind of grabbed her hand and just, like, rubbed her hand a little.”

He held the baby up as long as he could while others rushed to help. Together, they pulled both of them to safety.

Asked what pushed him forward, Cundiff offered a tired smile. “Turns out I'm a fighter, I guess. Always thought I was a runner, I guess not today.”

The baby girl was examined and is doing well, police said.

Cundiff remained in the hospital Thursday, monitored for a fast heart rate, but doctors expect him to go home soon.

A Heroic Bystander Just Saved a Baby From Lake Michigan Despite Not Knowing How To Swim

Scientific American

Researchers have uncovered what may be the oldest surviving whale recording, a 77-year-old audio disk etched during a 1949 expedition off Bermuda. The sound, a haunting melody buried in the archives of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is now believed to have come from a humpback whale.

On 7 March 1949, scientists aboard the R/V Atlantis lowered an early underwater microphone system into the Atlantic. A machine better suited for office dictation carved the sounds it captured directly into a thin plastic disk. The recording featured eerie howls and the rumble of moving water. Then it was filed away, eventually fading from memory.

Decades later, WHOI researchers rediscovered the disk and recognized its scientific value. Marine bioacoustician Laela Sayigh said, “Data from this time period simply don’t exist in most cases. This recording can provide insight into how humpback whale sounds have changed over time, as well as serving as a baseline for measuring how human activity shapes the ocean soundscape.”

The recording dates to a precarious moment for humpback whales in the North Atlantic. After decades of commercial whaling, their numbers had collapsed. By 1955, scientists estimated the population may have dipped below 1,000 animals. While modern counts are overdue, even older estimates point to a population that has since grown by a factor of 20 to 25.

Humpbacks “talk” to one another through long, patterned vocalizations, and their songs have become a central tool for understanding whale behavior. Rediscovered audio from a time when the species was approaching its lowest point offers rare historical context.

The find also marks a milestone in the history of ocean science. Underwater acoustic technology was in its infancy in the late 1940s, and few recordings from that era survive. For WHOI researchers, the 1949 disk is not just an artifact. It is a baseline from a quieter ocean, decades before modern shipping, sonar and industrial noise reshaped the sea’s acoustics.

Scientists now hope the audio will help them trace how humpback songs evolve across generations and how whales adapt to changing environments. For a species once pushed to the edge, the rediscovered voice from 1949 offers both a scientific opportunity and a reminder of how far conservation has brought them.

A Long-Lost Recording Reveals What May Be The Oldest Known Song Of A Humpback Whale

Euro News

The Cincinnati Zoo recently announced its African penguin colony welcomed two adorable chicks, with footage showing zoo staff caring for the pair.

The Cincinnati Zoo posted this footage on X with a caption reading, “We have two African penguin chicks in the Bird House nursery! They will be cared for by bird staff until they are ready to join the rest of the colony in African Penguin Point.”

In a press release the zoo said the chicks would join the colony in the spring, noting they require a, “great deal of care and attention when they are this young, even being hand-fed a nutritious concoction dubbed a ‘fish milkshake’ by the zoo’s bird-keepers!”

The zoo added, “These shakes don’t really have any milk at all, but rather a mixture of fish, krill, vitamins, and supplements that will nourish the chicks as they grow!”

📸 Cincinnati Zoo via Storyful

Cincinnati Zoo Welcomes Two New African Penguin Chicks. And They're Adorable

Africa News

Zimbabwe has introduced a national program for lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention drug, becoming one of the first countries in the world to do so. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora called it “an important day in Zimbabwe's national response to HIV” as he formally launched the effort on Thursday.

Lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences and approved in Zimbabwe in November, offers near-total protection against HIV infection. Its long-acting design removes one of the biggest barriers to existing PrEP pills, the need to take medication every day.

The rollout is funded by the U.S. government and the Global Fund. The first phase will reach more than 46,000 people at 24 sites across the country. Priority will go to those facing the highest risk, including adolescent girls, young women and sex workers.

Zimbabwe’s HIV burden remains one of the largest in Africa, with 1.3 million people living with the virus. Yet the country has made some of the continent’s strongest progress in treatment and prevention. It has met UNAIDS’ 95 95 95 targets and reduced national prevalence from 34 percent in the early 2000s to about 12 percent today.

Community reactions suggest real optimism. In Epworth, local leader Melody Dengu received the injection earlier this month and immediately began encouraging others to do the same. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the move, calling lenacapavir “the next best thing to a vaccine.”

Health officials say the twice-yearly shot could reshape prevention efforts, especially for people who struggle with daily dosing. For Zimbabwe, the hope is that the drug will help push new infections even lower and bring the country closer to ending AIDS as a public health threat.

Zimbabwe Launches Groundbreaking HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir

CTV News

The moment Kyle Landi walks into his Burlington gym, everything tightens into focus. Cameras or no cameras, the 26 year old moves with the kind of purpose that leaves no doubt about why he is there.

Landi is the first competitive bodybuilder in Canada with Down syndrome, though he does not let the diagnosis define him. If anything, he treats it as something closer to fuel. He has built a following of more than one million across Instagram and TikTok, trained with big names including Arnold Schwarzenegger, and earned his certification as a personal trainer. He is also developing a fitness app aimed at helping others reach goals of their own.

His rise has not changed the values he was raised with. His mother, Kim Murphy, made sure he grew up independent and surrounded by challenge. “I would put him in mainstream everything, mainstream dance, mainstream gymnastics, mainstream karate, because we all need to level up when you see other people,” she said from her home in Milton. She never wanted anyone to underestimate him. “Don’t ever pity him, because he is the happiest guy in the world.”

Some of that determination comes from the way she felt treated in the hospital when he was born. Landi arrived six weeks early, with Down syndrome, and later needed open heart surgery at age nine. “When he was born, they made it sound, instead of ‘congratulations’ … it turned into a very mournful event,” she said. “Like the kid wasn’t dead or dying, but they made it sound like it.” She says the reaction robbed the moment of joy.

Landi has spent his life disproving limits. Along the way, he has become a source of strength for others, including his stepfather, Joe Dominie, a former police officer living with PTSD, anxiety and depression. “This man has single-handedly helped save my life. Literally. Literally,” Dominie said during a recent workout. Landi’s energy and willingness to push through setbacks are what keep him moving too.

His mother says the family often hears from people who see their own possibilities reflected in Kyle. One message came from a young mother struggling after giving birth to a child with Down syndrome. After hearing Kyle’s story, she said her fear eased. It helped her imagine a different future.

Right now, Landi is deep into training for two major events, the Pittsburgh Pro Competition at the Pittsburgh Power and Fitness Festival in May, and the Muscle Beach Bodybuilding Contest in Venice, California, in June.

He knows the physical work matters. But he also knows that the impact he has on people watching him may be the bigger accomplishment. His lifts are heavy, but the way he lifts others may be heavier still.

Canada’s First Bodybuilder With Down Syndrome Trains For The Big Stage, And Lifts Others Up Too

ABC News

Osaka officials say they are still stunned after receiving an extraordinary anonymous gift, 21 kilograms of gold bars intended specifically to repair the city’s aging water pipes.

The donation, worth 560 million yen, arrived at the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November. Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters the scale of the gift stopped him in his tracks. “It's a staggering amount and I was speechless,” he said. “Tackling aging water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank you enough for the donation.”

The city plans to honor the donor’s request and put the gold toward waterworks upgrades. The need is urgent. Concerns about infrastructure safety grew after a sinkhole in Saitama swallowed a truck and killed the driver last year. Officials linked the collapse to a damaged sewer.

Osaka’s system has its own challenges. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, the city logged 92 water pipe leaks beneath local roads, according to waterworks official Eiji Kotani. With 2.8 million residents, the city is Japan’s third largest and acts as the capital of the country’s western region. Much of its core infrastructure was built during the postwar boom, and Kotani noted that Osaka developed earlier than many cities. That means its pipes have aged earlier, too.

The city estimates it must renew 259 kilometers of water lines. Replacing just two kilometers can cost about 500 million yen. The anonymous gold donation will not solve the problem on its own, but it will help Osaka accelerate projects that have been waiting for funding.

For now, city leaders say their priority is simple: use the gift exactly as intended and keep the water system safe for the millions who rely on it every day.

Anonymous Donor Gifts $3.6M Gold Bar To Fix a Town's Aging Water Pipes

ESPN

Most hockey games wrap up in a couple of hours. This one needed three days and a small rulebook detour to settle things.

It started Monday night, when the Cottage Grove Wolfpack and St. Paul Saints met in a District 8 playoff game. They were tied 1-1 after regulation, so they kept playing. Then kept playing more. Six full 10-minute overtime periods later, the scoreboard still had both teams stuck on one. With the clock pushing toward 23:00, everyone agreed it was time to go home and try again Tuesday.

St. Paul co-head coach John Weiberg told ESPN the players were surprised by what they had stumbled into. “After the first three periods we played, I think, three overtimes, and then they resurfaced the ice, and after that we're sitting in the locker room waiting for the Zamboni to get done [and] we're kind of like, ‘Well this is pretty cool.’ But how long [is] this going to go?”

Turned out the answer was much longer than anyone expected.

On Tuesday night, the teams played four more overtime periods. Overtime numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10 came and went without a goal. Another team needed the arena, so the kids went home again. With a Thursday playoff game looming for whoever advanced, Wednesday had to provide a winner.

District officials and coaches agreed on a simple plan. A standard 11th overtime would start the night. If that did not work, overtime 12 would shift to three-on-three to open up the ice. If still tied, a shootout would end it.

“We all agreed that we'd way rather figure it out on the ice than do something crazy off the ice,” Weiberg said. “So the shootout was not exactly what we wanted to do, but, you know, we had to get the game over at some point, and if the shootout is good enough for the Olympics, it's probably good enough for 12U hockey too.”

Overtime 11 came and went. So did overtime 12. A shootout was the only option left.

Five rounds in, the teams were still level. Then came the moment that finally tipped the balance. Cottage Grove goalkeeper Lydia Pettey made the save of the season, her 96th stop of the marathon. Moments later, teammate Ashlyn Anderson buried the winning shot.

Ashlyn told KSTP’s Chris Long that a little sibling coaching helped. “Before this game, my brother actually taught me a couple shots [that] would help me score that goal,” she said.

The relief poured out in her next line, delivered with a grin. “[I was] feeling like: ‘If we lose this, I'm quitting hockey.’”

Lydia’s performance and the 55 saves from St. Paul goalie Ellen Weiberg kept the game locked at one for three straight days. Minnesota Hockey does not keep an official record for the longest game ever played, but this one has to be in the running.

St. Paul’s coach was honest about how hard the ending was for his team, especially after so much time and intensity. Even so, he hoped the girls would appreciate the scale of what they had just done. “It's tough being on the losing end of the game,” he said. “But I'm hoping a couple days, a couple weeks, down the road the girls can look back and be like, ‘This was an unbelievable experience, and how cool was it that we got to be part of a game that's trending nationally when we're 12 years old?’”

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