Scientists have found that the Great Barrier Reef's microbiome includes an estimated 362,802 distinct viruses and 876 distinct bacterial and archaeal species—584 of which had never been documented before 2026.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Take a 3D underwater trip near the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, comprising more than 900 islands and almost 3,000 individual reefs. This video lets you tag along with divers as they explore the reef off the southern coast of Lady Elliot Island in full 3D (use the direction buttons in the upper left of the video, or your keypad).

Some animals, including certain tropical ants, have little or no microbial populations in their gut, upending the idea that all animals rely on this ecosystem to help maintain their health and proper functioning.

In 2026, University of Cambridge researchers reported that a group of gut bacteria called CAG-170 may be a key marker of good health, occurring far more often in healthy individuals and less commonly in people with chronic diseases.

Over 1 million fish, marine mammals, and invertebrate species depend on coral reefs for habitats, camouflage, and food.

There are up to 100 trillion microbes in the gut, and maintaining the relative balance in this ecosystem is important for our health.

The first coral reefs formed hundreds of millions of years ago from the carbonate skeletons deposited by hard corals.

Take an interactive tour through Australia's Great Barrier Reef, featuring spherical panoramas of marine wildlife, including manta rays, loggerhead turtles, and bottlenose dolphins.

The gut microbiome—a complex community of up to 100 trillion microbes—has a changing composition, influenced by our life stage, diet, medications, environment, and other factors.

Watch a diving expedition through the world's longest coral colony, which spans more than a football field and whose exact location is kept secret for its protection.

The gut microbiome's community of viruses is collectively known as the virome, but most of its viruses remain unidentified.

Lining up every microbe on Earth would stretch to about 105,000 light-years

There are about 10²⁷ such organisms on the planet, many of which are adapted to produce energy through uncommon reactions in unconventional environments, such as within rocks or near volcanoes on the ocean floor. Studies of these organisms have reframed astrobiologists' search for life beyond Earth by broadening the parameters under which life can exist.

Trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, and archaea live in our guts, producing a wide range of molecules, hormones, and more—underscoring the immune system's pivotal role in the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

An analysis of fossilized reefs from northern Africa and Germany suggests that shallow water corals and photosynthetic algae formed the mutualistic partnership seen today between 419 and 359 million years ago.

What revisiting a 1979 experiment reveals about ecosystem recovery after deep-sea mining

A 2023 study co-led by the National Oceanography Centre and the Natural History Museum, London, found that tracks made by the mining vehicle remained largely unchanged since 1979. Small animals, such as amoeba-like xenophyophore, were seen in the cleared areas, but sightings of larger animals known to live in the region were much rarer. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

How microbes limited the damage and helped clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

A bloom estimated to contain about 100 sextillion microbial cells broke down much of the 4.1 million barrels of spilled crude oil into nontoxic compounds in what was one of the most significant bioremediations of a human-made disaster. The microbes involved acted similarly to the first patented genetically modified organism in US history: an oil-eating bacterium engineered in 1971.

About 76% of global coral species are found in the Coral Triangle—a region spanning the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.

Gut bacteria are evolving and can acquire as many as 100 new genes per year, on average.

Researchers generally group gut bacteria into six different categories, with varying amounts of these microbes residing in different parts of the digestive tract.

Explore coral reefs in Google's "street view"

Expanding its mission to map the world, Google Maps partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey to introduce the first-ever underwater panoramas, making oceanic marvels like the Great Barrier Reef accessible to everyone. With Google Maps, the public...

Deep water corals—located throughout the world's ocean basins at depths beyond 200 meters (660 feet)—slowly build small coral gardens in the dark with the help of underwater worms.

From 2023 to 2025, coral reefs experienced their fourth global bleaching event and the largest such event through 2025.

The ocean's ability to store carbon long-term is being hindered by marine heatwaves

More than 4,000 robotic floats with biogeochemical data sensors, including oxygen, pH, nitrate, suspended particles, chlorophyll, temperature, and conductivity, have been deployed as part of the Global Ocean Biogeochemical Array. They have identified changes to ecosystem structure affecting the ocean's ability to transport carbon from surface waters into the deep.

What is the gut microbiome?

The gut microbiome is a microscopic ecosystem that runs off the work of microbes in the digestive tract. These workers make getting energy from food possible. What and how that energy manifests depends on what building blocks these microbes have to work with, meaning their composition and functions are strongly influenced by diet. Gut microbes have their own genes, which affect how a person's genes act.

Although ecologists have struggled to identify a species as a keystone—one of outsized importance to its ecosystem—an analysis of 50 years of data and 157 studies identified 230 such species.

Why are coral reefs important?

Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that millions of people and countless species depend on. This two-minute video from London's Natural History Museum looks at the ecological and economic significance of coral reefs, including their biodiversity and...

What's next for gut microbiome science?

A Stanford microbiologist explores what we don't yet know about the gut microbiome—such as whether we can engineer the bacterial species within it—and the current scientific advances in the field.

Because it is observed in organisms that are not closely related, biofluorescence is thought to have emerged independently many times in nature—over 100 in fish alone.

View a breakdown of the identified species on Earth, led by about one million insect species, while mammals such as humans make up one of the smallest groups.

Microbial research suggests shifts in diverse populations may help an invasive species establish itself

In 1958, English ecologist Charles Elton suggested that diverse ecosystems should be more resistant to invasive species because gaining a foothold would be more challenging when resources are more thinly spread. However, in lab-grown microbial ecosystems with greater biodiversity, population volatility opened more ecological roles that invasive species could easily fill.

The warmest waters in the ocean are found at hydrothermal vents—hot springs on the seafloor that discharge plumes of mineral-rich water.

Inside Australia's National Sea Simulator, scientists are cross-breeding coral species and using CRISPR to genetically engineer heat-resistant corals to withstand warming reefs worldwide.

The world's largest coral, as seen from space

The world’s largest individual coral colony—measuring over 100 feet wide and 100 feet long—was discovered in the Solomon Islands. This coral is so large it can be seen from space, and is estimated to be between 300 and 500 years old. The coral's size and health provide hope amidst a global coral bleaching crisis, wherein three-quarters of coral reefs have experienced significant bleaching in recent decades. See the photos from space and learn more here.

View a gallery of animals found on abyssal plains, hydrothermal vents, seamounts, and other deep-sea habitats.

When diving and snorkeling in environments containing reefs, avoid touching reefs, anchoring on them, or using sunscreen with active ingredients harmful to marine life.

Unprecedented imaging of the Vibrio bacteria, published in 2026, may highlight new treatment targets

Researchers have produced the most detailed image ever of a key part of the Vibrio bacteria—the cause of cholera—known as the sheathed flagellum, which helps it move.

During coral bleaching, corals sacrifice their food source and expel colorful microorganisms to protect themselves, a phenomenon that resembles an organism's immune system attacking itself.

Microplastics have been found everywhere there is liquid or vapor water, from the oceans and tropical waters to polar ice and the air we breathe, posing growing risks to wildlife and ecosystems.

A technical review of what researchers know about the gut microbiome

This overview from the National Institutes of Health provides a deeper (but still accessible) look at the different bacteria in the gut, how the microbiome develops through life, its purpose, and more.

As immobile animals, corals and the organisms that live on them have evolved a suite of chemical compounds to prevent disease and ward off predators they cannot outrun.

Listen to recordings of different fish species

Scientists have captured and curated this collection of species-specific recordings, helping us gain a deeper understanding of underwater ecosystems. Uncover their sounds, which include a lot of thumps, burps, and grunts.

Coral reefs are built by thousands of coral polyps—tiny animals whose mouths both consume food and expel waste.

Synthetic pheromones may protect coral reefs by attracting their predators

Researchers in Australia and Japan have developed these nontoxic chemicals to attract crown-of-thorns starfish, which consume corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef. As of 2026, synthetic pheromones have been shown to be effective in lab trials, and future field trials will attempt to lure starfish into areas for mass removal.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—photosynthetic algae that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

Some algae have helped remove microplastics from water after being bioengineered to clump together with these contaminants, forming an easily collectible microplastic-algae sludge.

Scientists have collected critical minerals from ocean water using seaweed, a type of algae that leaves behind a mineral-rich powder called bio-ore after being processed into biofuels.

Specific gut microbiome 'fingerprints' are associated with cancer recurrence, with up to 94% accuracy.

The Southern Ocean features the Antarctic Circumpolar Current—the largest ocean current on Earth—which encircles Antarctica and creates a unique biogeographical zone.

Microbes are essential to creating the many varieties of cheese, influencing texture and taste

Microbes break down proteins and fats and produce compounds with distinct tastes. These microbes can include bacteria (like the one used to give Swiss its trademark holes), molds (like the ones that give blue cheese its distinctive veining), and countless other tiny organisms.