The Coral Lab

The world's coral reefs are bleaching faster than they can recover, and a small group of scientists is racing to breed corals that can survive the heat. The Coral Lab takes you inside that race. Meet the researchers who fly over the reef to read its health from the air, the teams crossing and breeding corals for heat tolerance, and the labs evolving the algae that live inside every polyp. See how probiotics for a reef, coral IVF, frozen larvae and underwater gardens off the Florida Keys are being tested, and why the corals that shrugged off a record heatwave have scientists so excited. Along the way the book asks the hard questions: how much does it cost to restore a single hectare, can machines help, and will any of it work in open water? Clear, vivid and grounded in published science, this is a hopeful and honest look at the people trying to save the reefs before the oceans bleach them away.