Scientists teamed up with local dive operators to source photographs of manta rays visiting the parks' waters and submit them to MantaMatcher.org - a crowdsourced online database for mantas and other rays.

As a result of these collaborative efforts, 1,085 individual manta rays were identified in Komodo National Park, Indonesia.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health led by Eric Schmidt, along with collaborators, successfully identified the DNA responsible for synthesizing the compound, eleutherobin, marking a significant step towards producing it in the laboratory for further testing and potential use in cancer treatment.

Meanwhile, a second group of researchers led by Bradley Moore of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, showed in a separate study that corals make related molecules.

Species distribution models have become a valuable tool to predict the distribution of species across geographic space and time.

Model predictions revealed current areas of suitable habitat beyond the current northern range limits of the pink sea fan, in areas where colonies have not yet been observed.

"It's not clear why pink sea fans have not yet colonised these areas. Possible barriers include insufficient dispersal of their larvae and high competition between species for space and resources," said Dr Tom Jenkins, from the University of Exeter.

The Associated Press reported that the governor of the Red Sea province closed the area for three days.  All "sea activities" have been banned, including diving, snorkelling, wind surfing, kite sailing and fishing boats.

According to reports, an 68-year-old woman from Austria was swimming in the Red Sea near the resort of Sahl Hasheesh when she was attacked by a shark.