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Published online 29 January 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.537

News

Sunscreen wipes out corals

Study shows how chemicals can kill symbiotic algae.

Susan Brown

Sunscreen can bleach coral reefs, researchers have confirmed. The chemicals that filter ultraviolet (UV) light can activate latent viral infections in the symbiotic microalgae that the corals rely on for nutrition.

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  • I think the right question to ask here is not 'what is important, your coral or my skin?' but 'our environment or my precautions?' -Manu Lopus

    • 30 Jan, 2008
    • Posted by: Manu Lopus