Inheritance Inheritance. Metachromatic leukodystrophy is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. This means that both copies of the disease-causing gene in each cell must have a mutation for an individual to be affected. Individuals inherit two copies of each gene - one copy from each parent.
Crown-of-thorns starfish. Crown-of-thorns starfish are one of the most damaging creatures of tropical coral reefs, particularly Australia's Great Barrier Reef. They are voracious predators that release the contents of their stomach on to the coral.
Australia's Great Barrier Reefâthe world's largest coral reefâis a unique marine ecosystem threatened by global warming. Damage to the reef could harm the region's biodiversity, tourism, and fisheries. The reef has suffered eight mass coral bleaching events since 1979, triggered by unusually high water temperatures. 1  If there is enough time between bleaching events, the coral can often recover.