The Science Life Animals

Cool water could protect sea stars from a mysterious disease

Fjord-dwelling sea stars seem to be resilient to a devastating wasting disease

A diver examines a sunflower shaped sea star on a rock.

Marine ecologist Alyssa Gehman surveys sunflower sea stars in Burke Channel on the Central Coast of British Columbia. These sea stars seem to be more resilient to a deadly wasting disease than their counterparts in warmer waters.

Bennett Whitnell/Hakai Institute

By Siddhant Pusdekar

A mysterious disease that has plagued sea stars for more than a decade may have met its match in the fjords of British Columbia.