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The dive was piloted by Victor Vescovo, undersea explorer and founder of the ocean research company Caladan Oceanic, with Dr. Dawn Wright (Chief Scientist at Esri) as mission sonar specialist. The expedition was again led and coordinated by expedition leader Rob McCallum, founder of EYOS Expeditions.

Wright supported the dive with her expertise in marine geology and the company's geospatial technology and became one of the few individuals – and the first Black person – to visit Challenger Deep.

Scientists teamed up with local dive operators to source photographs of manta rays visiting the parks' waters and submit them to MantaMatcher.org - a crowdsourced online database for mantas and other rays.

As a result of these collaborative efforts, 1,085 individual manta rays were identified in Komodo National Park, Indonesia.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health led by Eric Schmidt, along with collaborators, successfully identified the DNA responsible for synthesizing the compound, eleutherobin, marking a significant step towards producing it in the laboratory for further testing and potential use in cancer treatment.

Meanwhile, a second group of researchers led by Bradley Moore of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, showed in a separate study that corals make related molecules.

Species distribution models have become a valuable tool to predict the distribution of species across geographic space and time.

Model predictions revealed current areas of suitable habitat beyond the current northern range limits of the pink sea fan, in areas where colonies have not yet been observed.

"It's not clear why pink sea fans have not yet colonised these areas. Possible barriers include insufficient dispersal of their larvae and high competition between species for space and resources," said Dr Tom Jenkins, from the University of Exeter.

The Associated Press reported that the governor of the Red Sea province closed the area for three days.  All "sea activities" have been banned, including diving, snorkelling, wind surfing, kite sailing and fishing boats.

According to reports, an 68-year-old woman from Austria was swimming in the Red Sea near the resort of Sahl Hasheesh when she was attacked by a shark.

Complex interactions and conflicts between protected populations may challenge the recovery of whole ecosystems. Several factors indicate that white sharks may be currently limiting the recovery of California sea otters.

Protected white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and pinnipeds have an established predator–prey relationship along the California coast.

White sharks are considered threatened by the IUCN Red List, and though they are protected at state, federal, and global scales, their current status in the northeastern Pacific is debated.

Text by David McGuire

Imagine witnessing a white spot moving quickly up from below. From a blur of white and gray, it turns into an open mouth, two black eyes, and large wing-like fins. In three seconds, the image transforms from a vague spot to a great white grin. Five rows (with two protruding rows) of around 300 triangular serrated teeth line a jaw of cartilage around one meter (three feet) wide in a mature great white shark sized around 5 to 6 meters (16.5 to 20 feet).

Victor Vescovo, the founder of exploration company Caladan Oceanic, and a team from EYOS Expeditions made six dives over eight days looking for the long-lost WW2 destroyer which was located on 22 June. It lies at a depth of 6,895 meters (22,621 feet), in the Philippine Sea, split in two and lodged on a slope.

Speaking to CNN, Vescovo called it an "honor" to find the ship, saying in a statement that locating it had given the team the chance "to retell her story of heroism and duty."