From the RMS Titanic to the SS Endurance, shipwrecks offer valuable — yet swiftly deteriorating — windows into the past. Conservators slowly dry marine wooden artifacts to preserve them but doing so can inflict damage. To better care for delicate marine artifacts, researchers in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering developed a new hydrogel that quickly neutralizes harmful acids and stabilized waterlogged wood from an 800-year-old shipwreck.

Since the first fiber optic cables rolled out in the 1970s, they’ve become a major part of everything from medical devices to high-speed internet and cable TV. But as it turns out, one group of marine mollusks was way ahead of us. A new study reveals that clams called heart cockles have unique structures in their shells that act like fiber optic cables to convey specific wavelengths of light into the bivalves’ tissues.

Despite their tiny size, viruses have a significant and rippling impact throughout all facets of life, including that of the deep sea. Deep-sea viruses are no doubt understudied, but some facts known about their existence might give future researchers some insight into climate-related changes on a global level, such as the relationship between deep-sea viruses and the global ocean environment. Uncovering the significance of their community structure, host interactions and ecological functions and impacts are pivotal to the understanding of how these deep-sea dwellers can affect life both above and below the surface.

Some animals, such as the starlet sea anemone, can regenerate large parts of their body, even after major injuries. EMBL researchers have shown this regeneration response involves cells and molecules in body parts far from the injury site and is directed towards restoring the animal’s original shape. The study sheds new light on the fundamental importance of maintaining body shape in animals and enhances our understanding of the molecular pathways involved in regeneration.