Mikhail Matz loves corals. As a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Matz is well aware of the many threats corals face: global warming, pollution, ocean acidification, you name it. But when it comes to the danger posed by sunscreen chemicals—some of which are now banned in certain states and countries after research found they could bleach coral in the lab—Matz just isn’t convinced.
He’s tried to induce bleaching in corals, a reaction in which corals expel algae, a main food source, and usually die, in every which way possible. He’s even filled a tub of corals with sunscreen until the water was milky white with the substance. Matz told Earther the corals he tested were fine. In fact, they were “happy,” he said, with their tentacles out and feeding.
LINK (via: Gizmodo)
