Scientists at Stanford University have revived bleached corals by placing them in contact with healthy ones, a discovery that could aid reef restoration as ocean temperatures rise. The method, detailed in *Science Advances*, involves brief physical contact between bleached and healthy corals from the same colony, allowing beneficial algae and nutrients to transfer.
The breakthrough was accidental. In 2025, marine biologist Steve Palumbi noticed a bleached coral regaining color where it touched a healthy specimen in a lab tank. Testing confirmed the effect: within seven weeks, all bleached corals in contact with healthy clones recovered, while those kept apart died. Microscopic analysis revealed the corals fused, forming channels that permitted algae to migrate from healthy to bleached tissue within three days. The algae then multiplied rapidly inside the damaged corals.
Lead author Danny Collins, a Stanford PhD student, emphasized the urgency of the work. “While bleached corals may be dying, they are not dead yet,” he said. The study offers a potential tool for coral restoration, though its scalability to entire reefs remains untested. The research was conducted at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability .
