Share this

A process that changes the regulation of genes could help corals acclimatize to the impacts of global warming.

Cells commonly control gene expression by adding a methyl group to part of the DNA, changing how the information on the DNA is read without changing its genetic code. Researchers at KAUST wanted to investigate whether DNA methylation could play a role in helping corals adapt to climate change.

They placed colonies of the smooth cauliflower coral, Stylophora pistillata, in seawater aquariums with varying acidity levels for two years. Ocean acidification is a consequence of climate change and hinders the ability of corals to produce the calcium carbonate skeleton they need to maintain their structures. The researchers hypothesized that DNA methylation might allow corals to mitigate these effects by changing the way they grow.

Click here to read the full story

Share this

Purifying water to make it clean enough to drink takes a lot of energy. A KAUST team has found a way to efficiently produce clean fresh water using the energy in sunlight. The 3D solar-steam generator, which works with near-perfect energy efficiency, could be used as an environmentally friendly way to turn seawater into drinking water, as well as to clean wastewater.

Key to the solar steam generator is a photothermal material that soaks up sunlight and converts the captured energy into heat. When placed on a wet surface, water drawn into the hot photothermal material turns to steam, which can be captured as pure water.

Click here to read the full story

Image: Solar-steam generation treats wastewater and has a great potential to provide fit-for-purpose water for agriculture.
© 2018 Renyuan Li

Share this

The presentation of their research was complemented by an immersive multimedia exhibition combining underwater film and photography focusing on the biodiversity found within the Red Sea. Entitled “water.colours: a Red Sea biodiversity exhibition” organized and curated by KAUST ARTmosphere curator, Solkem N’Gangbet.

The event, introduced by the Consul General of Italy, Elisabetta Martini, and titled, “Future environmental and biological scenarios between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.” emphasized that the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea present fundamental environmental and biological differences, but they also have similarities.

“It is about the future of the environment of the Mediterranean on the basis of what is happening in the Red Sea, it highlights the similarities between the seas and the environmental changes and issues they face as a result of climate change”, said Consul Martini.
The opening of the Suez Canal and the rise of the Mediterranean temperature are bringing tropical species typical of the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea. Hence the Red Sea is considered a research subject to comprehend future environmental and biological scenarios in the Mediterranean, in the light of climate change.

​

​ Professor Daffonchio presented insights into deep sea anoxic brine lakes, considered to be among the most extreme aquatic environments on Earth. “The organismal diversity and metabolic potential of the microbial assemblages in the brine pools are exciting models to disentangle the symbiotic and syntrophic cooperation between microorganisms to sustain element cycles in the deep-sea desert. The brine lakes offer exciting models for the understanding of the ecological relationships among microbes in extreme environments.” said Professor Daffonchio.

The conference also featured presentations by Giorgio Bavestrello, Professor of Zoology at the University of Genova discussing global warming and structural changes in benthic communities in the Mediterranean and Dr Folco Giomi, Researcher in Ecology at the University of Padova discussing anthropogenic driven climate warming as a global threat for ocean systems.


The conference was sponsored by the Italian Consulate General in the framework of the initiative “Italy, Culture and the Mediterranean” and the KAUST Red Sea Research Centre, with the aim of connecting Italian scientific community in KAUST and Italian universities, in addition to communicating research findings to new audiences. 


Share this

​The process of copying DNA is complex choreography that requires rapid speeds and pin-point precision. Discovering the intricate details of this process could identify new ways to target diseases, such as cancer, and KAUST scientists have just uncovered a crucial step.

Click here to read the full story

Image: KAUST scientists, including first author Manal Zaher, discovered that the enzyme FEN1 acts as a switch during DNA replication.

Share this

​Combining music and movement is not unusual—but translating the movements of migrating marine animals into musical notes certainly is. An international research team including KAUST scientists have created a sound symphony using data charting the movements of northern elephant seals in the Pacific Ocean. This sonification technique provides surprising insights into group dynamics and synchronicity. 

Click here to read the full story

Image: Each group of seals was assigned a musical note. These notes change pitch according to the animals’ longitudinal position relative to the main group.
© 2018 KAUST

Share this

​The genome of the orange clownfish, immortalized in the film Finding Nemo, has been deciphered, giving researchers the most detailed information so far on reef fish genomics.

“The nemo genome is composed of 24 chromosomes. We were able to sequence about 97 percent of the underlying genome sequence and then place about 98 percent of that sequence into the 24 chromosomes of the species,” says computational biologist, Robert Lehman. “By any measure, that is a remarkable effort and represents a very complete genome assembly.”

Click here to read the full story

Image: Orange clownfish live among sea anemones, providing them with oxygen and nutrients while gaining shelter from predators.
© 2018 Tane Sinclair-Taylor