TIME Magazine: Scientists Race to Save Coral Reefs via Biobanks, Assisted Fertilization and Selective Breeding

TIME magazine published a major feature on May 28, 2026 documenting researchers across the UK and Germany racing to make coral reef ecosystems more resilient through a range of biotechnology-assisted conservation approaches. Photographer Britta Jaschinski spent six months embedded with laboratory teams working to preserve coral genetic diversity before it is lost to ongoing ocean warming. Key techniques documented include cryogenic biobanking of coral sperm to preserve genetic material from species at acute risk of extinction; assisted fertilization — manually bringing corals together to reproduce when thermal stress has left populations too geographically sparse for natural spawning; and selective breeding of heat-tolerant offspring from the strongest surviving parent corals. Jamie Craggs, principal aquarium curator at London's Horniman Museum and Gardens, described the work as 'buying time in pockets to give corals at least a fighting chance into the future.' The feature situates the laboratory effort within the broader crisis context: warm-water coral reefs are passing a planetary tipping point, with the 2023–2025 fourth global bleaching event having affected 84.4% of the world's reef area across 83 countries — the most severe bleaching episode ever recorded. Scientists emphasise that restoration laboratory work can preserve coral biodiversity and genomic resources but cannot substitute for global emissions reduction as the primary intervention.