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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

The Waves Within the Waves

The Waves Within the Waves

December 18, 2014

If the 30-foot wave we were looking for had tumbled across the ocean’s surface that July day, it might have been mistaken for a monstrous rogue wave. But that’s not where this wave rolled. This wave surged within the ocean—deep…

Trouble in the Tropics

Trouble in the Tropics

November 26, 2014

An MIT-WHOI graduate student is on the trail of marine toxins that accumulate in fish and are eaten by people.

Big Questions About Tiny Bacteria

Big Questions About Tiny Bacteria

November 3, 2014

It’s 3 a.m., and Jesse McNichol is struggling to stay awake. Since midafternoon, he’s been in his lab, tending to a jumble of glassware, plastic tubing, and metal cylinders filled with microbes. He sighs, rubs his bloodshot eyes, and heads…

It's Hard to Kill a Killifish

It’s Hard to Kill a Killifish

October 1, 2014

Summer Student Fellow Lily Helfrich is using a new molecular tool, microRNA analysis, to explore why some killifish are able to thrive in waters heavily contaminated with PCBs.

On the Trail of an Invader

On the Trail of an Invader

October 1, 2014

To find out when and how fast a small gray barnacle came to New England waters, WHOI researchers turn to forensic techniques.

News Releases

New WHOI study cautions that deep-sea fishing could undermine valuable tuna fisheries

January 27, 2026

The study shows that large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic fish that live hundreds of meters below the surface could reduce the food available to bigeye tuna

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and CMA CGM expand their partnership

January 27, 2026

CMA CGM, which has long been committed to preserving biodiversity through multiple initiatives in the U.S. and worldwide, will support two key WHOI projects

Seawater microbes offer new, non-invasive way to detect coral disease, WHOI-led study finds

January 20, 2026

Coral reefs support more than 25 percent of all marine life and underpin the livelihoods of roughly one billion people globally.

What can a whale’s breath tell us? According to a new study, a lot about its health

November 12, 2025

A first of its kind study links drone-collected respiratory microbes with health assessments, offering hope for protecting vulnerable populations

Bigscale pomfret are an ocean enigma

September 18, 2025

WHOI scientists delve into the elusive fish’s role in the food web

News & Insights

Florida’s ocean economy depends on science

August 29, 2025

WHOI’s Dennis McGillicuddy on why ocean life matters deeply to the Sunshine State

Valentine’s Day Courtship Tips from the Ocean

February 10, 2025

Are you an ocean lover? Go a little deeper with these courtship tips from beneath the waves!

Recognizing Massachusetts Right Whale Day

April 24, 2023

April 24 marks the first-ever Right Whale Day in Massachusetts. WHOI biologist and veterinarian Michael Moore recently met with the resident who brought this special recognition about– and explains why it’s important to raise awareness about the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Getting Smaller, New Research Finds

June 10, 2021

A report out this week in Current Biology reveal that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are up to three feet shorter than 40 years ago. This startling conclusion reinforces what scientists have suspected: even when entanglements do not lead directly to the death of North Atlantic right whales, they can have lasting effects on the imperiled population that may now number less than 400 animals. Further, females that are entangled while nursing produce smaller calves.

right whales

Rare Drone video shows critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021   During a joint research trip on February 28 in Cape Cod Bay, Mass., WHOI whale trauma specialist Michael Moore, National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and scientists from New England Aquarium, witnessed a remarkable biological event: North…

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