organism

"Using physics we learned something new and interesting about an adaptive strategy in an organism," says Ranjiangshang Ran, co-lead author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow in Burton's lab.

As organisms age, their ability to remove damaged or altered proteins declines.

Until now, such an anchoring mechanism had only been documented in marine organisms.

Rather than disappear completely, scientists say reefs will evolve into less diverse ecosystems as they are overtaken by algae, sponges and other simpler organisms better able to withstand hotter oceans.

Their findings point to a connection between this disorientation and long-term exposure to harmful compounds produced by cyanobacteria -- microscopic organisms that thrive in warm, nutrient-rich waters.