Researchers developed a diffusion-based artificial intelligence system that learns ship navigation directly from real-world voyage data rather than relying on optimization algorithms. Trained on a vessel in Japan's busy and geographically complex Seto Inland Sea, the AI learned to balance multiple objectives simultaneously, including collision avoidance, efficient routing, and speed control. The AI also learned local navigation practices, such as staying within designated traffic lanes, without being explicitly programmed to do so. The study demonstrates that diffusion-based AI can capture human-like navigation behavior from real-world data, offering a promising new approach to autonomous ship navigation in complex maritime environments.

New research from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa used high-resolution modeling that includes small-scale processes to examine projected heat stress on coral reefs over the 21st century. Comparing this heat stress to previous estimates of the rate at which corals may adapt to changing conditions, the authors found that Hawaiian corals have the possibility of adapting to future heat stress, even under a high emissions scenario.

Researchers and divers at the Alcatrazes Archipelago Wildlife Refuge have recorded evidence that sand tiger sharks use the site not only for mating, but also for gestation.

A new review study explores natural products containing atypical atoms, including boron, fluorine, arsenic, selenium, iodine, vanadium, and molybdenum. These metabolites reveal how nature’s biosynthetic repertoire extends beyond conventional biological elements, enabling unusual biosynthetic pathways, redox activity, detoxification, signaling, defense, and catalysis. The review highlights their ecological roles and future potential for drug discovery, genome mining, and sustainable biocatalysis.

New analysis shows that a ‘pause’ in Arctic winter sea ice decline seen in the early 2020s has ended following record lows in 2025 and early 2026.

The new partnership is designed to jointly develop cutting-edge genomic tools for addressing large-scale challenges in health and the environment. The partnership combines research strengths in environmental and marine science, engineering and computer science and biomedical and life sciences.

Webcams commonly used by surfers are helping scientists measure Oregon's coastal fog, shows a study from UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. 

Scientists in search of coral reef barriers which had been detected but not investigated in the 1960s, and were thought to be dead, discovered an apparently thriving ecosystem of deep-water corals. Using sonar surveys to narrow down their search areas and then an underwater drone and trail cameras to investigate, they identified a mesophotic coral garden teeming with species of reef-loving fish and multiple different varieties of coral. The researchers suspect that other as-yet undiscovered reef ecosystems could still be out there.

Researchers at the University of Sydney have harnessed over 30 years of data to build a new method to help more accurately measure the impact of climate change-induced events on the Great Barrier Reef.  

Their framework quantifies reef degradation over time and provides other researchers a 'health check’ tool to assess reef health. It can be used to measure the impact of severe disturbances, including coral bleaching, cyclones and floods, on reefs.  

Researchers from Okayama University of Science and collaborating institutions have identified four previously unrecognized mosasaur fossil bones from a rock collected about 30 years ago in Osaka Prefecture, including the first confirmed mosasaur premaxilla ever found in Japan. The fossils, recovered during a reexamination of museum specimens, also display unique anatomical features that differ from those of known mosasaurs, suggesting the possibility of a previously unknown species. The discovery demonstrates the scientific importance of revisiting existing museum collections and provides new insights into Late Cretaceous marine ecosystems in the northwestern Pacific.