The Science Life Animals Cool water could protect sea stars from a mysterious disease Fjord-dwelling sea stars seem to be resilient to a devastating wasting disease Marine ecologist Alyssa Gehman surveys sunflower sea stars in Burke Channel on the Central Coast of British Columbia. These sea stars seem to be more resilient to a deadly wasting disease than their counterparts in warmer waters. Bennett Whitnell/Hakai Institute By Siddhant Pusdekar 5 seconds ago A mysterious disease that has plagued sea stars for more than a decade may have met its match in the fjords of British Columbia. Sunflower sea stars discovered thriving in the frigid waters suggest that cooler temperatures provide protection from sea star wasting disease, or SSWD. The finding, reported in the April Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is a valuable clue about what causes SSWD in the first place, researchers say. Sea star wasting disease has stumped scientists since the first big outbreak emerged in 2013 off North America’s Pacific coast. “We initially thought it was a virus, but went back on that, because the data was either flawed or the results couldn’t be repeated,” says Ian Hewson, a marine ecologist at Cornell University who was not involved in the new study. His follow-up research into possible microbial or environmental causes has been inconclusive. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.