A closer look
Before bleaching and dying, corals try to save themselves by throwing a desperate, neon-lit rave. When shallow-water species on the Great Barrier Reef face extreme temperatures and sunlight, they aggressively pump out fluorescent GFP-like proteins that absorb harmful UV radiation and re-emit it as a harmless glow. This vibrant bio-optical display acts as an internal chemical sunscreen, trying to coax their symbiotic algae into sticking around before the entire colony starves to death.
