The Ocean Risk Summit, held May 8-10 in Bermuda at the Fairmont Southampton Princess, was a first-of-its-kind event bringing together individuals from the political, economic, environmental, and risk sectors to examine the challenges and risks posed by ocean change and identify innovative approaches to building resilience.

In recent years, libraries in North America have become much more than book repositories, providing modern classrooms and light-filled lecture spaces, comfortable group and individual study areas, and high speed Internet access. The newly renovated library at BIOS promises that and more—anyone want to learn to build a circuit for an undersea robot?

People know that the health of a mother, and the environment in which she lives, influences the health of her baby. Still, it may come as a bit of a surprise that a similar relationship holds true with one of the ocean’s oldest inhabitants: corals.

Last week, seven enthusiastic Clearwater Middle School students and two proud teachers got an experience of a lifetime when they headed to North Rock with BIOS to snorkel and operate their winning Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in the ocean.

As an invading underwater species, the lionfish is king.

Ten years ago this fall, BIOS purchased a 168-foot submersible support ship from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Florida, reconfigured lab and deck space, modified it for science work offshore Bermuda, and 18 months later sailed the converted oceanographic research vessel into its new homeport in St. George’s, Bermuda. Since then, that vessel—renamed research vessel (R/V) Atlantic Explorer—has sailed tens of thousands of miles on behalf of BIOS scientists and hundreds of other researchers worldwide for science work and marine education initiatives.

“I call them the Female Dream Team,” said BIOS educator Kaitlin Baird The Bermuda Program, designed for high school and college students, began in 1976 as a way to encourage students to consider careers in marine, atmospheric, and oceanographic sciences. It is part of BIOS’s Ocean Academy, a suite of hands-on programs offered for 10-to 21-year-old Bermudians that centers on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. Last year, 1,390 local students and teachers were involved in Ocean Academy programs

Marine science isn’t a prerequisite for medical school, but last month 13 pre-medical and health students from Furman University traveled to BIOS to spend three weeks delving into marine science for human good. They were participating in the second offering of BIOS’s interdisciplinary Oceans and Human Health course, which is co-taught by two Furman biology professors and four BIOS scientists. Through lectures, field trips, and hands-on research projects, the course covers how human health benefits from marine life, as well as the potential threats facing humans and marine organisms, and risk management and policy implications.

orals may glow yellow, orange and red to improve light conditions for algae. Fluorescent orange, red, green, and yellow corals found deep in the Red Sea were a flashy surprise for BIOS researcher Tim Noyes and colleagues during a recent international workshop held in Israel. The eye-catching corals, which host proteins that make them colorful, could have promising medical applications. See details along with video and photos at Nature.com and TheBlaze.com.

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