Society for Science & the Public, which publishes Science News, uses cookies to personalize your experience and improve our services. For more information on how we use cookies on our websites, visit our Cookie Policy.
News in Brief Environment

Plastic pollution increases risk of devastating disease in corals

More than 11 billion pieces of the long-lived pollutant litter Asia-Pacific reefs

sick corals

DON’T DO IT  A plastic-based, polyester towel is caught on diseased corals, which have turned white. Known to harbor pathogenic bacteria, plastic is increasing the risk of disease at scores of reefs.

J. Lamb

By Dan Garisto

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Environment

  1. Amazon fire
    Earth

    Wildfires could flip parts of the Amazon from a carbon sponge to a source by 2050

    By Carolyn Gramling
  2. Pan de Azúcar National Park
    Ecosystems

    A newly found Atacama Desert soil community survives on sips of fog

    By Jack J. Lee
  3. Climate protest
    Climate

    Countries urgently need to ramp up emissions cuts to meet climate targets

    By Carolyn Gramling
  4. smoke stacks
    Climate

    50 years ago, scientists puzzled over a slight global cooling

    By Carolyn Gramling
  5. honeybee
    Animals

    Power lines may mess with honeybees’ behavior and ability to learn

    By Rachel Fritts
  6. Artisans carving rosewood
    Ecosystems

    Can forensics help keep endangered rosewood off the black market?

    By Edward Carver
  7. Michelle O’Malley
    Life

    Michelle O’Malley seeks greener chemistry through elusive fungi

    By Aimee Cunningham
  8. tidewater glacier Greenland
    Climate

    How climate change is already altering oceans and ice, and what’s to come

    By Maria Temming

From the Nature Index

Paid Content