feed to stay on top of the news. A marine heat wave coupled with a sea star wasting disease decimated the population from Mexico to Alaska, especially in the Northeast Pacific, until the species was declared critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But if these baby sea stars are able to survive to adulthood in captivity, researchers hope to eventually reintroduce them into the wild, helping the population recover. That’s a big if, however, as they have never been bred in captivity before. Still, there was nothing to do but try after the consequences of the declining sea star population became evident as their prey, now unchecked, began decimating kelp forests.