Considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the eighty-thousand-year-old Great Barrier Reef runs for about 1,250 miles along the northeastern coast of Australia. It is the largest structure ever created by living things. Coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef are home to one quarter of all marine plants and animals. In fact, coral reefs are considered the “rain forests of the sea,” a source of tremendous biodiversity. Reef ecosystems support vast fisheries that people, especially in coastal nations, depend on for survival. Previously unknown compounds found in coral reefs offer hope as medicines. For example, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, Neurex, developed a potent painkiller from the poison of a reef-dwelling sea snail. Coral reefs also provide a beautiful undersea world that attracts snorkellers and divers, which in turn promotes a...