It has proven difficult to figure out the genome of many of the microorganisms in the ocean because they are much less abundant than other, well-known species. This makes it difficult to isolate them and culture them, creating a chicken and egg problem: how do you study them if you can’t grow them, but to grow them you need to know a bit more about them. 

In the past year, jellyfish have wreaked havoc in various places around the world, forcing shut downs of nuclear power plants in Florida, Scotland, Israel and Japan and hampering fishing fleets. What’s going on? Read more here in this Nature News article by Mark Schrope. Friday Harbor Labs’ Connie Mills is mentioned.