Scientists Finally Identify Killer Microbe Behind ‘Terrifying’ Sea Star Disease

A mysterious epidemic has wiped out billions of sea stars in recent years. A new study finally identifies the bacterium responsible.
Christopher Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, thought of himself as a reasonably dispassionate scientist. But one day in 2014 while out counting starfish, he thought he might cry.
Inspecting the tide pools along one of his favorite shorelines on Vancouver Island, Dr. Harley saw something new and alarming: sea stars in several stages of death, with their arms twisted or missing. The devastation went...
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