Great star corals in the grip of disease have been saved with probiotics — beneficial bacteria that attack or displace invading pathogens or possibly trigger immune responses to them. What’s causing this deadly disease remains unidentified. But researchers at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Fla., were able to successfully halt progression of the disease’s symptoms, the team reports June 5 in Frontiers in Marine Science. The condition is called stony coral tissue loss disease and is characterized by white lesions that lead to the loss of polyps — tiny soft-bodied organisms similar to sea anemones — blanketing coral. Eventually, nothing but the white coral skeleton is left behind. The disease emerged in Florida in 2014 and has spread rampantly throughout the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. A great star coral (M. cavernosa) colony is infected with stony coral tissue loss disease on the coral reef in Fort Lauderdale. The lesion, where the white band of tissue occurs, typically moves across the coral, killing coral tissue along the way. Kelly Pitts/Smithsonian Researchers suspect that the disease is bacterial in nature. Antibiotic treatments can offer a quick fix, but these drugs do not prevent reinfection and carry the risk of the mysterious pathogen building resistance against them. So, in late 2020, the Smithsonian group tried for a more sustainable solution, giving probiotics to 30 infected great star coral colonies. The helpful microbes came from corals tested in the lab that showed resistance to the disease. “We noticed that one of the coral fragments would not get infected … so one of the first things we did was try to culture the microbes that are on this coral,” says microbiologist Blake Ushijima, who developed the probiotic used in the team’s experiment. “These microbes produce antibacterial compounds … and one had a high level of activity against bacteria from diseased corals,” acting as a “pro” biotic, by somehow neutralizing pathogens. The identified microbe, a bacterium called McH1-7, became the active ingredient in a paste delivered by divers to several infected colonies. They covered these colonies with plastic bags to immerse them in the probiotic solution, injecting the paste into the bags using a syringe. They also applied the paste directly to other colonies, slathering lesions caused by the disease. A probiotic paste of McH1-7 is applied to the disease lesion of a great star coral (M. cavernosa) colony infected with stony coral tissue loss disease. The paste was then smoothed flat with a gloved hand so that all apparently infected tissue was covered by the lesion-specific treatment.Kelly Pitts/Smithsonian For two and a half years, the team monitored the corals’ health. The probiotics slowed or stopped the disease from spreading in all eight colonies treated inside bags. On average, the disease’s ugly advance was held to only 7 percent of tissue, compared with an aggressive 30 percent on untreated colonies. The paste put directly on the coral had no beneficial effect. The results are encouraging, but coauthor Valerie Paul cautions against declaring the probiotic a cure. She doubts the practicality of swimming around with heavily weighted plastic bags and putting them on corals. And, she points out, the study was limited to one species of coral, when the disease plagues over 30. Sponsor Message Still, Ushijima considers the study a proof of concept. “The idea of coral probiotics has been thrown around for decades, but no one has directly shown their effects on disease in the wild,” he says. “I think it’s very exciting because it’s actually opening the door to a new field.”

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Probiotics are everywhere, claiming to help us poop, restore gut health, and more. They can also be used to help threatened coral reefs. A bacterial probiotic has helped slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in wild corals in Florida that were already infected with the disease. The findings are detailed in a study published June 5 in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science and show that applying this new probiotic treatment across coral colines helped prevent further tissue loss. What is stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)? SCTLD first emerged in Florida in 2014. In the 11 years since, it has rapidly spread throughout the Caribbean. This mysterious ailment has been confirmed in at least 20 other countries and territories. Other coral pathogens typically target specific species. SCTLD infects more than 30 different species of stony corals, including pillar corals and brain corals. The disease causes the soft tissue in the corals to slough off, leaving behind white patches of exposed skeleton. The disease can devastate an entire coral colony in only a few weeks to months.  A great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) colony infected with stony coral tissue lossdisease (SCTLD) on the coral reef in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The lesion, where the white band of tissue occurs, typically moves across the coral, killing coral tissue along the way. CREDIT: KellyPitts, Smithsonian. The exact cause of SCTLD is still unknown, but it appears to be linked to some kind of harmful bacteria. Currently, the most common treatment for SCTLD is using a paste that contains the antibiotic amoxicillin on diseased corals. However, antibiotics are not a silver bullet. This amoxicillin balm can temporarily halt SCTLD’s spread, but it needs to be frequently reapplied to the lesions on the corals. This takes time and resources, while increasing the likelihood that the microbes causing SCTLD might develop resistance to amoxicillin and related antibiotics. “Antibiotics do not stop future outbreaks,” Valerie Paul, a study co-author and the head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida, said in a statement. “The disease can quickly come back, even on the same coral colonies that have been treated.” Finding the right probiotic Paul and her colleagues have spent over six years investigating whether beneficial microorganisms (aka probiotics) could be a longer lasting alternative to combat this pathogen. Just like humans, corals are host to communities known as microbiomes that are bustling with all different types of bacteria. Some of these miniscule organisms produce antioxidants and vitamins that can help keep their coral hosts healthy.  First, the team looked at the microbiomes of corals that are impervious to SCTLD to try and harvest probiotics from these disease-resistant species. In theory, these could be used to strengthen the microbiomes of susceptible corals.  They tested over 200 strains of bacteria from disease-resistant corals and published a study in 2023 about the probiotic Pseudoalteromonas sp. McH1-7 (or McH1-7 for short). Taken from the great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa), this probiotic produces several antibacterial compounds. Having such a stacked antibacterial toolbox made McH1-7 an ideal candidate to combat a pathogen like SCTLD. They initially tested McH1-7 on live pieces of M. cavernosa and found that the probiotic reliably prevented the spread of SCTLD in the lab. After these successful lab tests, the wild ocean called next. Testing in the ocean The team conducted several field tests on a shallow reef near Fort Lauderdale, focusing on 40 M. cavernosa colonies that showed signs of SCTLD. Some of the corals in these colonies received a paste containing the probiotic McH1-7 that was applied directly to the disease lesions. They treated the other corals with a solution of seawater containing McH1-7 and covered them using weighted plastic bags. The probiotics were administered inside the bag in order to cover the entire coral colony.   “This created a little mini-aquarium that kept the probiotics around each coral colony,” Paul said. For two and a half years, they monitored the colonies, taking multiple rounds of tissue and mucus samples to see how the corals’ microbiomes were changing over time. They found that  the McH1-7 probiotic successfully slowed the spread of SCTLD when it was delivered to the entire colony using the bag and solution method. According to the samples, the probiotic was effective without dominating the corals’ natural microbes.  Kelly Pitts, a research technician with the Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce, Floridaand co-lead author of the study treats great star coral (Montaststraea cavernosa) colonies infected with SCTLD with probiotic strain McH1-7 by covering the coral colony in a plastic bag, injecting a probiotic bacteria solution into the bag and leaving the bag for two hours to allow for the bacteria to colonize on the coral. CREDIT: Hunter Noren. Fighting nature with nature While using this probiotic appears to be an effective treatment for SCTLD among the reefs of northern Florida, additional work is needed to see how it could work in other regions. Similar tests on reefs in the Florida Keys have been conducted, with mixed preliminary results, likely due to regional differences in SCTLD. The team believes that probiotics still could become a crucial tool for combatting SCTLD across the Caribbean, especially as scientists fine tune how to administer them. Importantly, these beneficial bacteria support what corals already do naturally.  “Corals are naturally rich with bacteria and it’s not surprising that the bacterial composition is important for their health,” Paul said. “We’re trying to figure out which bacteria can make these vibrant microbiomes even stronger.”

A Deadly Disease Is Eating Away at Caribbean Corals and Wreaking Havoc on Reefs. Could Probiotics Be the Solution? New research suggests the probiotic McH1-7 could help stop the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease among wild corals near Fort Lauderdale, Florida Scientists determined the most effective method of halting the disease was covering a coral colony with a weighted plastic bag, then injecting a seawater solution that contains the probiotic. They left the colony covered for two hours to allow the probiotic bacteria to colonize the coral. Hunter Noren Probiotics can be good for human health. Now, new research suggests they might also help protect coral reefs. A bacterial probiotic helped slow the advance of stony coral tissue loss disease—a fast-spreading and deadly condition—among wild corals in Florida, researchers report today in a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. The probiotic may be a good alternative to antibiotics like amoxicillin, which temporarily curb the spread of the disease but must be reapplied frequently. In addition, scientists fear stony coral tissue loss disease may one day become resistant to these antibiotic treatments—just as “superbugs” that infect humans are building resistance to our own drugs. Antibiotics are meant to kill microorganisms, but probiotics are beneficial living microbes. The idea is that a probiotic can be incorporated into corals’ natural microbiomes, ideally offering them longer-lasting protection. First discovered in Florida in 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease attacks the soft tissue of more than 30 different species of coral. Without treatment, the disease eventually kills the corals, and their soft tissue falls off, revealing the white calcium carbonate skeleton below. In just weeks or months, it can devastate a whole colony. Stony coral tissue loss disease can be spread by fish that eat coral, as well as by boaters and divers who do not disinfect their gear. The condition has since expanded its range beyond Florida to reefs throughout the Caribbean. Several years ago, researchers looking at the great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) discovered a probiotic called Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain McH1-7. Laboratory tests showed McH1-7 stopped or slowed the progression of stony coral tissue loss disease in infected corals. It also helped prevent the disease from spreading to healthy corals. But that was in the lab. Would McH1-7 be similarly effective in the ocean? Researchers were eager to find out, so they set up an experiment on a shallow reef off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Study co-author Kelly Pitts, a research technician with the Smithsonian Marine Station, applies a paste containing the probiotic directly onto the disease lesion of an infected coral. Hunter Noren Experimenting with wild corals For the study, the scientists focused on 40 great star coral colonies that were showing symptoms of stony coral tissue loss disease. In one experimental condition, the researchers made a paste that contained McH1-7 and applied it directly onto the disease lesions. For comparison, they also applied the same paste, minus the probiotic, to some corals. In another condition, they covered infected coral colonies with weighted plastic bags, then filled the bags with seawater solutions made with and without McH1-7. They left the corals covered for two hours. “This created a little mini-aquarium that kept the probiotics around each coral colony,” says study co-author Valerie Paul, head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida, in a statement. The scientists completed all the treatments within the first 4.5 months of the project. Then, they returned periodically to gather tissue and mucus samples from the corals to measure changes to their microbiomes. Over the next 2.5 years, they took photos from a variety of different angles, which they then used to create 3D models that could track the disease’s progression. In the end, the results suggest covering the corals with plastic bags filled with the probiotic seawater solution was the most effective method. More than two years post-treatment, the colonies that received the probiotic bag had lost just 7 percent of their tissue, while colonies in the control bag condition faced 35 percent tissue loss. Scientists applied a probiotic paste directly to disease lesions on some corals. Kelly Pitts The probiotic paste, by contrast, appears to have made the situation worse: The corals that had the probiotic paste applied directly to their lesions lost more tissue than those treated with the control paste, which did not contain McH1-7. “We do not really know what is going on with the probiotic paste treatment,” Paul tells Smithsonian magazine in an email. But she has a few theories. It’s possible the high concentrations of McH1-7 contributed to localized hypoxia, or low-oxygen conditions that further harmed the already stressed corals, she says. Or, the probiotic could have changed the microbiome at the lesion site in some negative way. Another possibility is that McH1-7 produces antibiotics or other substances that were harmful at high concentrations. Amanda Alker, a marine microbiologist at the University of Rhode Island who was not involved with the study, wonders if this finding suggests McH1-7 is beneficial at specific dosages—a question future laboratory research might be able to answer, she tells Smithsonian magazine in an email. She’s also curious to know which specific molecular components of the probiotic are responsible for the increased tissue loss when applied as a paste. More broadly, Alker would like to see additional experiments validating the bag treatment method, but she says this “inventive” technique seems promising. “Their approach is a safer solution than antibiotic treatment methods that have been deployed to combat [stony coral tissue loss disease] in the field so far,” she says. “Further, this is a practical solution that could be implemented widely because it doesn’t require highly specialized equipment and has the ability to be used with any type of microbial solution.” Looking ahead to save reefs Probiotics are likely not a silver bullet for protecting corals. For one, researchers still don’t know exactly what causes stony coral tissue loss disease, which makes it difficult to determine how or why the probiotic works, Paul says. In addition, since the disease has spread to many different parts of the Caribbean, it might be challenging to use the bag treatment technique on all affected colonies. “We would need to develop better methods of deploying the probiotic through time release formulations or other ways to scale up treatments,” Paul says. “Right now, having divers swim around underwater with weighted bags is not a very scalable method.” The researchers have also conducted similar experiments on infected corals located farther south, in the Florida Keys. However, these tests have produced mixed results, probably because of regional differences in stony coral tissue loss disease. This is another hurdle scientists will likely need to overcome if they hope to expand the use of probiotics. “We probably need to develop different probiotics for different coral species and different regions of the Caribbean,” Paul says. Researchers returned to gather samples of tissues and mucus to see how the corals' microbiomes had changed. Hunter Noren Even so, scientists are heartened by the results of the experiments conducted near Fort Lauderdale. With more research, the findings suggest probiotics could be a promising tool for combatting the disease elsewhere. “Coral probiotics is a challenging field, because there are hundreds of different types of bacteria that associate with corals, and there are limitless experiments that need to be performed,” Amy Apprill, a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who was not involved with the research, tells Smithsonian magazine in an email. “These researchers made a major advance with their study by demonstrating the utility of whole colony treatment as well as the specific probiotic tested.” Apprill adds that, while antibiotics have been widely used to control stony coral tissue loss disease, scientists haven’t conducted much research to see how these treatments are affecting the plants and creatures that live nearby. “Using a naturally occurring bacterium for disease treatment may result in lessened impacts to other members of the coral reef ecosystem,” she says. Amid rising ocean temperatures, scientists expect to find even more diseased coral colonies in the future. Warmer waters may also allow other pathogens to thrive and proliferate. Against that backdrop, Apprill adds, probiotics and the different methods of applying them will be “major allies” in the fight to save coral reefs. Paul is also optimistic. Through research and field studies, she’s confident researchers will be able to develop interventions that can “help corals better survive changing environments and respond better to diseases and bleaching,” she says. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Fruit flies don't naturally enjoy the taste of cocaine. Credit: Deposit Photos Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In a world first, scientists at the University of Utah have engineered fruit flies susceptible to cocaine addiction. But as strange as it sounds, there are potentially life-saving reasons for genetically altering the insects to crave the drug. The novel biological model could help addiction treatment therapies development and expedite research timelines. The findings are detailed in the Journal of Neuroscience. As surprising as it may sound, humans have a lot in common with fruit flies. In fact, we share around 70–75 percent of the same genes responsible for various diseases, as well as many of the same vital organs. Researchers have relied on the insects for genetic studies for years, especially for investigating the biological roots of certain addictions like cocaine abuse. This is due in large part to the fruit fly’s quick life cycle and its comparatively simple genetic makeup. But while scientists have administered the drug to the bugs in the past, there’s always been a small problem. “Flies don’t like cocaine one bit,” Adrian Rothenfluh, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of psychiatry, said in a statement. Even when previously introduced to cocaine, Rothenfluh’s team noted that the insects routinely opted for pure sugar water over sugar water laced with cocaine. Study first author Travis Philyaw theorized the reason may reside in a fly’s sense of taste that is found on their legs. “Insects are evolutionarily primed to avoid plant toxins, and cocaine is a plant toxin,” Philyaw explained. “They have taste receptors on their ‘arms’—their tarsal segments—so they can put their hand in something before it goes in their mouth, and decide, ‘I’m not going to touch that.'” After confirming that cocaine activates a fruit fly’s bitter-sensing taste receptors, Rothenfluh and Philyaw switched off those nerves. Once deactivated, there was little to stop the flies from developing a cocaine habit. These modified flies were subsequently introduced to sugar water infused with a low concentration of cocaine. Within 16 hours, the insects indicated a preference for the drug-laced drink. “At low doses, they start running around, just like people,” said Rothenfluh. “At very high doses, they get incapacitated, which is also true in people.” Now that researchers know how to breed the modified fruit flies, they can more easily study how cocaine addiction evolves in the body. Not only that, but they can do so on a much faster timeline by analyzing hundreds of genes at a time. “We can scale research so quickly in flies,” said Philyaw. “We can identify risk genes that might be difficult to uncover in more complex organisms, and then we pass that information to researchers who work with mammalian models.” From there, scientists can identify treatment targets that help link to human therapy options. “We can really start to understand the mechanisms of cocaine choice, and the more you understand about the mechanism, the more you have a chance to find a therapeutic that might act on that mechanism,” explained Rothenfluh.

Satellite view of coral reefs in New CaledoniaShutterstock/BEST-BACKGR​OUNDS There might be an upside to the loss of coral reefs. Their decline would mean oceans can absorb up to 5 per cent more carbon dioxide by 2100, researchers estimate, slowing the build up of this greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere. “It is a beneficial effect if you only care about the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere,” says Lester Kwiatkowski at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. But the decline of corals will also reduce biodiversity, harm fisheries and leave many coasts more exposed to rising seas, he says. Advertisement How much the world will warm depends mainly on the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. So far the land and oceans have been soaking up around half of the extra CO2 we have emitted. Any factors that increase or decrease these so-called land or ocean carbon sinks could therefore have a significant impact on future warming. It is often assumed that corals remove CO2 from seawater as they grow their calcium carbonate skeletons. In fact, the process, also known as calcification, is a net source of CO2. “You’re taking inorganic carbon in the ocean, generally in the form of carbonate and bicarbonate ions, turning it into calcium carbonate and that process releases CO2 into the seawater, some of which will be lost to the atmosphere,” says Kwiatkowski. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month. Sign up to newsletter This means that if reef formation around the world slows or even reverses, less CO2 will be released by reefs and the oceans will be able to absorb more of this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere – a factor not currently included in climate models. Observations suggest coral reef calcification is already declining as rising seawater temperatures cause mass coral bleaching and die-offs. The higher level of CO2 is also making oceans more acidic, which can make it harder to build carbonate skeletons and even lead to their dissolution. Kwiatkowski and his team took published estimates of how corals will be affected by warming and ocean acidification and used a computer model to work out how this might change the ocean sink in various emission scenarios. They conclude that the oceans could take up between 1 and 5 per cent more carbon by 2100, and up to 13 per cent more by 2300. This doesn’t take account of other factors that can cause reef decline such as overfishing and the spread of coral diseases, says Kwiatkowski, so might even be an underestimate. On the other hand, the work assumes that corals aren’t able to adapt or acclimatise, says Chris Jury at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, who wasn’t involved in the study. “If the worst-case or even medium-case scenario in this study comes to pass, it means the near-total destruction of coral reefs globally,” says Jury. “I think that with consideration of realistic levels of adaptation and acclimatisation by corals and other reef organisms, the authors might come to different conclusions under a low to moderate level of climate change.” If Kwiatkowski’s team is correct, it means that the amount of emitted CO2 that will lead to a given level of warming – the so-called carbon budget – is a little larger than currently thought. “I think we would like our budgets to be as accurate as possible, even if we’re blowing through them,” says Kwiatkowski. Journal reference:PNAS DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2501562122 Topics:

From August 23rd - September 14th, 2023 (Kodiak, Alaska to Seward, Alaska), NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping (EX2306), a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and mapping expedition to the Gulf of Alaska on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Operations during this 23-day expedition included the completion of 19 successful remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, which were conducted in water depths ranging from 253.1 m to 4261.5 m for approximately 87 hours of bottom time and resulted in the collection of 383 samples. EX2306 also collected more than 28,000 sq. km of seafloor bathymetry and associated water column data using an EM 304 multibeam sonar. These images were captured on dives that were included in the source data for the How Little We’ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor paper. They are good general reference imagery for the type of deep ocean observations captured by ROVs.(Image Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsKey Takeaways on Deep Ocean Exploration: We have visually explored less than 0.001 percent of the deep sea floor. To put that in perspective, 66 percent of the planet is deep ocean, and 99.999 percent of that ocean is unknown to us.Like ecosystems on land, the sea has a complex food web. Most of life in the sea depends on detritus, mostly phytoplankton, falling down from the surface, something called “marine snow.”Organisms that live in shallow water absorb carbon dioxide and take that with them when they sink to the bottom, often to be buried in deep-sea sediment. This is known as a carbon sink. It’s important to know the rates at which this happens, because this partially offsets the carbon we’re adding to the atmosphere. It’s been said many times that we know more about the moon than our own ocean. But is it really true that we’ve explored only a tiny portion of the sea?Katy Croff Bell wondered about this, too. Bell is an oceanographer and the founder of the Ocean Discovery League. She knew that Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and others have been operating deep-sea submersibles like Alvin for decades, and there are facilities in 20 or so places around the world doing deep-sea research. But how much of the sea floor have these projects actually explored visually, not just mapped or sampled?Mapping the Deep OceanBell started looking up dive data and doing some math. “I stayed up way too late and came up with a very, very tiny number,” she recalls. She didn’t believe her own results and got everyone she could think of to double-check her math. But the results held. Over the next four years, she and her team compiled a database of dives from organizations and individuals around the world, and the data support her initial estimate. The number is indeed tiny. It turns out that we have visually explored less than 0.001 percent of the deep sea floor. To put that in perspective, 66 percent of the planet is deep ocean, and 99.999 percent of that ocean is unknown to us. Bell and her team published their findings in May 2025 in the journal Science Advances.Why Deep Sea Exploration MattersFrom July 14 - July 25, 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners conducted the third in a series of Seascape Alaska expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Over the course of 12 days at sea, the team conducted 6 full remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, mapped nearly 16,000 square kilometers (6,180 square miles), and collected a variety of biological and geological samples. When combined with numerous biological and geological observations, data from the Seascape Alaska 3: Aleutians Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition will help to establish a baseline assessment of the ocean environment, increase understanding of marine life and habitats to inform management decisions, and increase public awareness of ocean issues. These images were captured on dives that were included in the source data for the How Little We’ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor paper. They are good general reference imagery for the type of deep ocean observations captured by ROVs. (Image Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration)About 26 percent of the ocean has been mapped with multi-beam sonar, explains Bell, and that gives us an idea of the shape of the ocean floor. But that’s like looking at a topographical map of an area you’re planning to hike. You know where the hills and valleys are, but you have no idea what kind of plants and animals you’re likely to encounter. If you want to understand the deep ocean, you need to get down there and see what kind of rocks and sediment are there, learn about the corals and sponges and other animals living there, she says. Samples of ocean life are helpful, but they do not give anything like a full picture of the life-forms in the deep sea, and more importantly, they tell you little about the complex ecosystems they’re a part of. But when you put mapping and sampling together with visual data, plus data about temperature, depths, and salinity, Bell says, you start to build a picture of what a given ocean habitat is like, and eventually, the role of that habitat in the global ocean system.The Deep-Sea "Snow" That Provides LifeFrom August 23rd - September 14th, 2023 (Kodiak, Alaska to Seward, Alaska), NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping (EX2306), a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and mapping expedition to the Gulf of Alaska on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Operations during this 23-day expedition included the completion of 19 successful remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, which were conducted in water depths ranging from 253.1 m to 4261.5 m for approximately 87 hours of bottom time and resulted in the collection of 383 samples. EX2306 also collected more than 28,000 sq. km of seafloor bathymetry and associated water column data using an EM 304 multibeam sonar. These images were captured on dives that were included in the source data for the How Little We’ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor paper. They are good general reference imagery for the type of deep ocean observations captured by ROVs. (Image Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration)Like ecosystems on land, the sea has a complex food web. Most of life in the sea depends on detritus, mostly phytoplankton, falling down from the surface, something called “marine snow,” explains James Douglass, an ecologist at Florida Gulf Coast University who studies life on the sea bed. This snow of nutrients is eaten by what are called suspension feeders, including filter feeders, such as sponges and corals, which have tentacles or basket-like appendages to trap the snow. Then other organisms, such as crabs and worms, feed on these creatures. The crabs and worms, in turn, are eaten by fish. Deposit feeders, such as the sea pig, a type of sea cucumber that “trundles across the bottom eating mud all day,” add to the already huge variety of life, Douglass says. The types of organisms you have in the deep sea depend on how deep it is, whether the sea floor is rocky or muddy, how quickly currents bring food, and whether there are underwater hot springs or cold seeps, or other sources of extra energy, says Douglass. So yes, it’s a complicated world down there, and there’s an awful lot we don’t yet know.Deep-Sea Ecosystems and Climate Change From July 14 - July 25, 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners conducted the third in a series of Seascape Alaska expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Over the course of 12 days at sea, the team conducted 6 full remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, mapped nearly 16,000 square kilometers (6,180 square miles), and collected a variety of biological and geological samples. When combined with numerous biological and geological observations, data from the Seascape Alaska 3: Aleutians Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition will help to establish a baseline assessment of the ocean environment, increase understanding of marine life and habitats to inform management decisions, and increase public awareness of ocean issues. These images were captured on dives that were included in the source data for the How Little We’ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor paper. They are good general reference imagery for the type of deep ocean observations captured by ROVs. (Image Courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration)Learning about ocean ecosystems is extremely valuable as basic science. But it has a more urgent purpose as well. Though we often think of the land and the sea as two completely separate places, they are intertwined in many significant ways. The ocean has absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat and 30 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans, says Bell. “But we don’t really have a good understanding of how this is going to impact deep-sea ecosystems, and those ecosystems play a vital role in the process of carbon sequestration,” she says.When it comes to climate change, the deep sea has a lot to teach us. In parts of the deep sea, Douglass explains, nothing disturbs the layers of sediment that are deposited slowly over the course of thousands, even millions of years. Geologists can interpret the layers and study the fossils preserved in them to get an understanding of what the conditions of the planet were like in the distant past, similar to the way climatologists study Antarctic ice cores. “We've learned things about how the ocean ecosystem changes when climate changes. We've learned that some worrying things can happen under certain climate conditions in the deep ocean,” Douglass says. “For example, the ocean can become less oxygenated, which would be a catastrophic threat to deep-sea life.”The Deep Ocean and Climate RegulationAnd, of course, there’s carbon dioxide. “The deep sea is not just a passive record of what happened to the climate; it’s involved in regulating climate,” Douglass says. Organisms that live in shallow water absorb carbon dioxide and take that with them when they sink to the bottom, often to be buried in deep-sea sediment. This is known as a carbon sink. Douglass says it’s very important to know the rates at which this happens, because this partially offsets the carbon we’re adding to the atmosphere. “Deep-sea carbon storage is a huge element in our understanding of the planet's ability to regulate climate,” he adds.If we are to truly understand the way the entire planet works, we need to understand the deep sea and its complex ecosystems as well as life on land and in the shallows. And to do that, Bell says, we need to get down there and look.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Advances. How little we’ve seen: A visual coverage estimate of the deep seafloorAvery Hurt is a freelance science journalist. In addition to writing for Discover, she writes regularly for a variety of outlets, both print and online, including National Geographic, Science News Explores, Medscape, and WebMD. She’s the author of Bullet With Your Name on It: What You Will Probably Die From and What You Can Do About It, Clerisy Press 2007, as well as several books for young readers. Avery got her start in journalism while attending university, writing for the school newspaper and editing the student non-fiction magazine. Though she writes about all areas of science, she is particularly interested in neuroscience, the science of consciousness, and AI–interests she developed while earning a degree in philosophy.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Save this picture!Algae Curtain / EcoLogicStudio. Image © ecoLogicStudio"The limits of our design language are the limits of our design thinking". Patrik Schumacher's statement subtly hints at a shift occurring in the built environment, moving beyond technological integration to embrace intelligence in the spaces and cities we occupy. The future proposes a possibility of buildings serving functions beyond housing human activity to actively participate in shaping urban life.The architecture profession has long been enamored with "smart" buildings - structures that collect and process data through sensor networks and automated systems. Smart cities were heralded to improve quality of life as well as the sustainability and efficiency of city operations using technology. While smart buildings and cities are still at a far reach, these advancements only mark the beginning of a much more impactful application of technology in the built environment. Being smart is about collecting data. Being intelligent is about interpreting that data and acting autonomously upon it. Save this picture!The next generation of intelligent buildings will focus on both externalities and the integration of advanced interior systems to improve energy efficiency, sustainability, and security. Exterior innovations like walls with rotatable units that automatically respond to real-time environmental data, optimizing ventilation and insulation without human intervention are one application. Related Article The Future of Work: Sentient Workplaces for Employee Wellbeing Kinetic architectural elements, integrated with artificial intelligence, create responsive exteriors that breathe and adapt. Networked photovoltaic glass systems may share surplus energy across buildings, establishing efficient microgrids that transform individual structures into nodes within larger urban systems.Interior spaces are experiencing a similar evolution through platforms like Honeywell's Advance Control for Buildings, which integrates cybersecurity, accelerated network speeds, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. Such systems simultaneously optimize HVAC, lighting, and security subsystems through real-time adjustments that respond to environmental shifts and occupant behavior patterns. Advanced security incorporates deep learning-powered facial recognition, while sophisticated voice controls distinguish between human commands and background noise with high accuracy.Kas Oosterhuis envisions architecture where building components become senders and receivers of real-time information, creating communicative networks: "People communicate. Buildings communicate. People communicate with people. People communicate with buildings. Buildings communicate with buildings." This swarm architecture represents an open-source, real-time system where all elements participate in continuous information exchange.Save this picture!Save this picture!While these projects are impressive, they also bring critical issues about autonomy and control to light. How much decision-making authority should we delegate to our buildings? Should structures make choices for us or simply offer informed suggestions based on learned patterns?Beyond buildings, intelligent systems can remodel urban management through AI and machine learning applications. Solutions that monitor and predict pedestrian traffic patterns in public spaces are being explored. For instance, Carlo Ratti's collaboration with Google's Sidewalk Labs hints at the possibility of the streetscape seamlessly adapting to people's needs with a prototype of a modular and reconfigurable paving system in Toronto. The Dynamic Street features a series of hexagonal modular pavers which can be picked up and replaced within hours or even minutes in order to swiftly change the function of the road without creating disruptions on the street. Sidewalk Labs also developed technologies like Delve, a machine-learning tool for designing cities, and focused on sustainability through initiatives like Mesa, a building-automation system.Cities are becoming their own sensors at elemental levels, with physical fabric automated to monitor performance and use continuously. Digital skins overlay these material systems, enabling populations to navigate urban complexity in real-time—locating services, finding acquaintances, and identifying transportation options.The implications extend beyond immediate utility. Remote sensing capabilities offer insights into urban growth patterns, long-term usage trends, and global-scale problems that individual real-time operations cannot detect. This creates enormous opportunities for urban design that acknowledges the city as a self-organizing system, moving beyond traditional top-down planning toward bottom-up growth enabled by embedded information systems.Save this picture!Save this picture!While artificial intelligence dominates discussions of intelligent architecture, parallel developments are emerging through non-human biological intelligence. Researchers are discovering the profound capabilities of living organisms - bacteria, fungi, algae - that have evolved sophisticated strategies over millions of years. Micro-organisms possess intelligence that often eludes human comprehension, yet their exceptional properties offer transformative potential for urban design.EcoLogicStudio's work with the H.O.R.T.U.S. series exemplifies this biological turn in intelligent architecture. The acronym—Hydro Organism Responsive To Urban Stimuli—describes photosynthetic sculptures and urban structures that create artificial habitats for cyanobacteria integrated within the built environment. These living systems function not merely as decorative elements but as active metabolic participants, absorbing emissions from building systems while producing biomass and oxygen through photosynthesis. The PhotoSynthetica Tower project, unveiled at Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, materializes this vision as a complex synthetic organism where bacteria, autonomous farming machines, and various forms of animal intelligence become bio-citizens alongside humans. The future of intelligent architecture lies not in replacing human decision-making but in creating sophisticated feedback loops between human and non-human intelligence. The synthesis recognizes that our knowledge remains incomplete in any age, particularly as new developments push us from lifestyles constraining us to single places toward embracing multiple locations and experiences.Save this picture!The built environment's role in emerging technologies extends far beyond operational efficiency or cost savings. Intelligent buildings can serve as active participants in sustainability targets, wellness strategies, and broader urban resilience planning. The possibility of intelligent architecture challenges the industry to expand our design language. The question facing the profession is not whether intelligence will permeate the built environment. Rather, architects must gauge how well-positioned we are to design for this intelligence, manage its implications, and partner with our buildings as collaborators in shaping the human experience.This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: What Is Future Intelligence?, proudly presented by Gendo, an AI co-pilot for Architects. Our mission at Gendo is to help architects produce concept images 100X faster by focusing on the core of the design process. We have built a cutting-edge AI tool in collaboration with architects from some of the most renowned firms, such as Zaha Hadid, KPF, and David Chipperfield.Every month, we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.

Worms are decomposers. Many survive by breaking down dead things — dead bacteria, dead plants, dead animals, dead anything. So, they must be accustomed to the stench of death. Not so, a new study suggests — not when the dead organism is another worm.Published in Current Biology, the study states that C. elegans roundworms react adversely to the smell of a deceased counterpart. Not only does this smell invoke a behavioral response of corpse avoidance, but it also invokes a physiological response of increased short-term fertility and decreased long-term fitness and lifespan.“Caenorhabditis elegans prefers to avoid dead conspecifics,” or deceased members of the same species, the authors state in the study, with the worms reacting to death with a range of “aversion” and “survival” responses. Taken together, the results reveal a new signaling mechanism that’s available to worms and possibly other organisms, too, as a means of detecting and responding to death.Read More: These Fruit Flies Aged Faster After Seeing DeathWorms Signal and Detect DeathC. elegans roundworms aren’t the only small organisms that respond to the dead. Ants and bees dispose of the deceased from their colonies, for instance, while fruit flies avoid corpses (and shun flies that have seen corpses themselves). Death-exposed fruit flies even experience faster aging after seeing a deceased counterpart, and have shorter lifespans than those that have had no encounters with death. That these animals respond so strongly to the dead is widely documented. So, when the authors of the new study noticed C. elegans worms wriggle away from corpses, they saw the response as a chance to dig deeper into death signaling and detection. Indeed, while many species’ reactions to death are mediated mainly by sight, that certainly wasn’t the case for wiggling roundworms, which have no eyes and no sense of vision. “We felt this was quite a unique opportunity to start diving into what is happening mechanistically that enables C. elegans to detect a dead conscript,” said Matthias Truttmann, a senior study author and a physiologist at the University of Michigan, according to a press release.To determine how C. elegans worms detect the dead, Truttman and his team exposed the worms to conspecific corpses and to fluids taken from the deteriorating cells of those corpses. The worms responded to both with avoidance, moving away regardless of their age and sex, suggesting that the corpses and fluids carried similar signatures of death. These death cues also resulted in short-term increases in fertility, long-term decreases in fitness (represented by a reduced thrashing rate), and long-term decreases in lifespan. But what were those death cues, exactly, and how did the worms pick up on them?Sounding a Sensory AlarmTo figure out what those cues could be, the study authors recorded the activity in the worms’ sensory neurons as they encountered the corpses and fluids. The recordings revealed that AWB and ASH, two neurons that are responsible for making sense of olfactory stimuli, were activated when the corpses and fluids were present, indicating that the worms were smelling the signature of death.“The neurons we identified are well known to be involved in behavioral responses to a variety of environmental cues,” Truttmann said in the release. According to the study authors, the metabolites AMP and histidine were probably responsible for the signal of death that the C. elegans worms recognized. Though these metabolites are typically contained in living cells, they are released when living cells die and deteriorate — in this case, triggering the behavioral and physiological responses in C. elegans. “They also detect a couple of intracellular metabolites that are not typically found in the environment. If they are around, it indicates that a cell has died, popped open, and that something has gone wrong,” Truttmann said in the release.It is possible that cellular metabolites serve as a signal of death in other organisms, too, Truttmann said, as the release of metabolites from dying and disintegrating cells in one tissue can cause changes in other tissues in humans, for instance. Whether this signal sounds the alarm in other organisms is still uncertain. While further research is required to understand the role of cellular metabolites in detecting death across species, for now, it’s clear that death is a sensitive subject, even for worms like C. elegans.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Current Biology. Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have developed MiniFix, a fully 3D printed syringe-based biological fixation system engineered for spaceflight. Successfully deployed in five MAPHEUS sounding rocket missions, MiniFix represents a breakthrough in experimental payload design, combining rapid prototyping, modularity, and robust performance in microgravity environments, combining rapid prototyping with modular, lightweight, and reliable performance under the extreme conditions of microgravity research. A 3D printing milestone for space life science Unlike conventional biological fixation systems, MiniFix is entirely produced via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Key components, including the syringe holders, baseplate, and housing, were fabricated using desktop 3D printers, notably a Prusa MK3+, with 0.4 mm nozzles and a 0.3 mm layer height. This approach enabled fast, low-cost iteration and customization of parts to suit different missions and experimental needs. The system has undergone structural revisions using three different filaments; PLA (Polylactic Acid), used in initial missions (MAPHEUS-09 and -12), PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol), chosen for enhanced mechanical durability (MAPHEUS-14), and GreenTEC Pro, a compostable bioplastic with high thermal resistance, used in MAPHEUS-15. This made MiniFix the first biologically compostable experiment structure to fly aboard a rocket. Sectional, translucent view through the MiniFix fixation system. Image via Sebastian Feles / DLR. Modular design for rapid adaptation MiniFix features a dual-syringe configuration, where a fixative and a biological sample are housed in vertically stacked syringes. Syringe actuation is handled by NEMA11 stepper motors coupled with linear actuators, allowing precise fluid dispensing. The hardware is modular and sterilizable, enabling pre-assembled syringe units to be installed under sterile conditions. Its all-3D printed chassis ensures that custom features, like integrated lighting for plant experiments, can be introduced quickly without redesigning the core system. This makes MiniFix suitable for various biological models, from unicellular organisms to organoids. Variants of the SBBFS Configuration. Image via Sebastian Feles / DLR. Built-in thermal regulation via waste heat A standout innovation is MiniFix’s passive thermal management system, which uses the heat generated by its stepper motors to maintain stable internal temperatures. With no need for separate heating elements, this system simplifies design, reduces power draw, and lowers overall payload mass, critical factors for sounding rocket missions with strict weight and energy budgets. Test data from MAPHEUS-15 showed that MiniFix maintained an internal temperature of 21.98 °C ±0.12 °C, consuming just 4.6 Wh during operation, even under ambient conditions as low as 4 °C. Space-tested reliability The reliability of this 3D printed structure was put to the test across multiple missions. MiniFix successfully endured extreme conditions, including launch vibrations exceeding 20 g and temperature swings from hypergravity to microgravity and re-entry. Across four missions, its components have shown no degradation or material failure, with post-flight inspections confirming the integrity of all printed parts and mechanical systems. Future applications Beyond fixation, MiniFix could evolve into a general-purpose liquid handling system for space. Its syringe mechanism is already capable of performing programmable mixing and the platform could be adapted for reagent delivery, drug testing, or even microfluidics in space-based manufacturing. Additionally, it exemplifies how additive manufacturing can accelerate experimental development cycles while maintaining reliability in harsh environments. Its open-source microcontroller and modular design ethos further position it as a template for future experimental hardware in life sciences and beyond.3D printing gains traction in space hardware development Additive manufacturing is rapidly transforming the development of spaceflight hardware, from on‑orbit part fabrication to ground-based launch systems. Just this year, ESA’s Metal3D printer aboard the ISS produced the first metal 3D‑printed part in microgravity, now safely back on Earth for analysis. Meanwhile, Nikon and JAXA are collaborating to refine large-scale metal 3D printing for space components, advancing materials and process control to shorten lead times and reduce launch costs. Within this context, DLR’s MiniFix system exemplifies a new wave of highly adaptable, mission‑specific payloads, completely fabricated using desktop FDM printers and bioplastics, optimized for the rigors of sounding rocket flight and microgravity research. The full research paper, titled “Pioneering the Future of Experimental Space Hardware,” is available in Microgravity Science and Technology via Springer Nature. Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us onLinkedIn and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry YouTube channel to access more exclusive content. At 3DPI, our mission is to deliver high-quality journalism, technical insight, and industry intelligence to professionals across the AM ecosystem.Help us shape the future of 3D printing industry news with our2025 reader survey. Featured image shows sectional, translucent view through the MiniFix fixation system. Image via Sebastian Feles / DLR.

Save this picture!© Ugo Carmeni, 2025A pavilion in a Biennale serves as a platform for cultural expression, allowing a nation to articulate its architectural identity while responding to global challenges. These national exhibitions reflect how each country interprets the event's central theme through the lens of its own landscapes, histories, and future aspirations, reinforcing architecture's ability to act not only as a built discipline, but also as a catalyst for reflection, transformation, and dialogue. In this context, Montenegro's contribution resonates with particular force. Titled Terram Intelligere: INTERSTITIUM, the pavilion draws on the concept of a newly understood anatomical system of fluid-filled spaces running throughout the human body, facilitating connection and exchange. Once considered dense and inert, the interstitium is now revealed to be a network of dynamic interrelation — a metaphor that the curators use to reframe architecture as an active, living inquiry into natural, artificial, and collective intelligence, in tune with this edition's theme: Natural. Artificial. Collective.Curated by Prof. Dr. Miljana Zeković, with contributors Ivan Šuković, Dejan Todorović, and Emir Šehanović, transforms the newly inaugurated Arte Nova space in Venice's Campo San Lorenzo into a dynamic laboratory. The project treats the interstitium not only as a biological metaphor, but as an architectural strategy, and the pavilion becomes a mediating membrane, connecting biology, tradition, and speculative futures. As Zeković explains, "Architecture naturally occupies a space between disciplines — not only between art and science, but also engineering. Here, it becomes a form of mediation between species, materials, and temporalities."Floating polycarbonate forms, infused with soil-derived bacterial cultures, are suspended by cables and arranged in a carefully orchestrated constellation. These transparent volumes are not inert, but biologically active. Over the six months of the Biennale, the microorganisms within them will grow, mutate, and generate bio-pigments in response to environmental stimuli such as light and temperature. This expanded view of architecture revisits the suvomeđa, a traditional Montenegrin dry-stone boundary wall built without mortar. More than a marker of property, the međa embodies ecological coexistence and cultural memory. In the pavilion, its principles are reinterpreted through these structures, each evoking the porosity, modularity, and autonomy of this vernacular tradition. "The međa is present in the pavilion both as a metaphor and as a symbol," observes Zeković. "Stones traditionally assembled without binding material are now reimagined in a collective, organic form — each floating, yet interconnected." Save this picture!Save this picture!Rethinking Intelligence (and Color) Through Soil and Slow TransformationDeveloped in collaboration with the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering at the University of Belgrade, the project demonstrates how soil bacteria collected from Durmitor National Park, Skadar Lake, Bukumirsko Lake, and villages near Virpazar produce bio-pigments under UV exposure. These vibrant and resilient pigments suggest a future in which ecological coloring could replace synthetic and toxic dyes in the construction industry. "The bacteria developed fascinating spatial systems," says Zeković, "which could easily be envisioned, in some modified form, applied in construction." For Zeković, this convergence between science and design reflects a deeper ambition: It is entirely realistic to expect that many industrial materials containing hazardous components will be replaced by natural, sustainable alternatives. (...) Science, art, and architecture can help create a better, more stable, and sustainable world. The Montenegrin pavilion offers more than a visual encounter — it invites participation. As Zeković states: Visitors can engage with the space in multiple ways. The first is as a passive observer, taking in the installation from afar. The second is for the curious — those who step closer, who examine the bacterial worlds, who enter the 'boundary' and explore this unexpected potential from multiple angles. Save this picture!Inside these floating forms, visitors discover not only living microbial ecosystems, but also narrative templates, abstract representations of Montenegrin terrains, and even living bacterial nanocellulose. It is a multisensory and educational journey — one that encourages slow observation and critical reflection.Rather than offering a definitive solution, Terram Intelligere: INTERSTITIUM invites us to rethink how we define intelligence, materiality, and boundaries. The project asks: what can we learn from soil, from tradition, from microorganisms? In doing so, Montenegro's contribution rejects immediate spectacle in favor of slow, cellular, and continuous transformation — proposing an architecture that adapts, and grows. As the curator affirms, "The theme of intelligence and future hybrid intelligent systems demands far more than mere interpretation; it requires deep engagement on multiple levels."Save this picture!Save this picture!And she reminds us that the Biennale is more than a platform for display: "The Architecture Biennale is indeed a showcase of nations and entities, but — and this is particularly important to me — it is also a place of education. Visitors come primarily to see and to learn, and therefore, the innovations and insights presented through the exhibitions are of great significance."Just as the međa quietly delineates space while sustaining complex and invisible ecologies, the systems explored in the Montenegro Pavilion suggest that resilience does not begin with grand gestures, but with subtle, intelligent adaptation. Rooted in the soil, microorganisms model complex cooperation and environmental responsiveness, constructing spatial networks, generating living pigments, and embodying an architecture that grows from within — silently, incrementally, collectively. As the text presented in the pavilion reminds us, "Through this quiet evolution, the city of the future may rise upon a living, ever-evolving foundation – one shaped by continuous growth, shared intelligence, and the subtle emergence of hybrid systems rooted in nature."Save this picture!Commissioner: Mirjana ĐurišićCurator: dr Miljana ZekovićExhibitors: Ivan Šuković, Dejan Todorović, Emir ŠehanovićProfessional collaborators and project partners: Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE), University of Belgrade - Dr Jasmina Nikodinović-Runić, Vukašin Janković, Dr Tatjana Ilić-Tomić, Dr Ivana Aleksić, Dr Dušan MilivojevićCreative team: Tamara Marović, Maja RadonjićProducer: Jelena BožovićProject technical director: Aleksandar JevtovićTechnical production assistants: Miloš Jevtović, Branislav DragojlovićLighting – technical implementation: Boris Butorac, Jovan Vanja MarjanovićSound design: Miloš HadžićPublication design and visual identity of the exhibition: Igor MilanovićOrganizer: Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property of Montenegro