{"aiVersion":"1","content":{"id":"cmva9j1x00004451pg5cck48o","slug":"how-a-healthy-coral-can-help-a-bleached-one-recove-20261016","title":"How a Healthy Coral Can Help a Bleached One Recover","level":"EASY","publishedAt":"2026-10-16T01:02:09.558Z"},"topic":{"slug":"how-a-healthy-coral-can-help-a-bleached-one-recove-20261016","category":"science"},"article":{"paragraphs":["Scientists at Stanford found that bleached corals can recover quickly when they touch healthy pieces from the same coral. In a lab experiment, researchers put small branches of the coral Pocillopora damicornis together. A bleached branch that touched a healthy one began to regain colour in just a few days.","The healthy coral sent tiny algae into the bleached coral through a tissue bridge. After about one week of contact, the bleached pieces continued to recover on their own and were fully healthy in seven weeks. Fragments that did not touch a healthy piece often died. This work offers hope, but it was tested in tanks and not yet in natural reefs."],"wordCount":112,"readTime":2},"vocabulary":[{"word":"bleached","example":"The bleached coral looked white and weak.","phonetic":"/bliːtʃt/","definition":"turned pale or white when corals lose their tiny algae"},{"word":"algae","example":"The coral gets food from algae in its tissue.","phonetic":"/ˈælɡiː/","definition":"tiny plants or plant-like organisms that live inside corals and give food"},{"word":"tissue bridge","example":"A tissue bridge let algae pass from one coral to the other.","phonetic":"/ˈtɪʃuː ˈbrɪdʒ/","definition":"a thin connection of living coral tissue between two pieces"}],"quiz":[{"answer":"Stanford","question":"Where did the experiment take place?"},{"answer":"Pocillopora damicornis","question":"What coral species was used?"},{"answer":"seven weeks","question":"How long did full recovery take for touching fragments?"}],"discussion":[{"question":"Do you think seeing one damaged thing helped by a healthy neighbour would change how you feel about nature?"},{"question":"Have you ever seen plants or animals recover after small help from people or other animals? What happened?"},{"question":"What do you think when you hear that scientists found a new way to help corals recover?"}]}