Australian researchers are using technology most commonly found in dentists’ surgeries to study coral, after noting the similarities between coral and human teeth: both are calcium-based and need to be measured on wet surfaces.
Dr Kate Quigley, a senior research scientist at the Minderoo Foundation who conducted the research at the Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, said she came up with the idea to use dental scanning technology in her coral studies during a visit to the dentist.
“One day I was at the dentist and they rolled out this new scanning machine," she said. “I knew immediately that it was something that could apply to scanning very small corals given corals and teeth actually share many similar properties."
Coral reefs are among the Earth’s most productive ecosystems and provide essential nutritional and protective services to people across the globe.
Although coral reefs only 0.2 per cent of the seafloor...