By Kristine Lofgren, Source: Inhabitat

For nearly a year, scientists have been scrambling to understand why starfish in the Pacific Ocean have been dying in droves. In fact, the problem has gotten so bad that many scientists expect entire species of sea stars to be extinct in the near future. Finally, scientists at University of California Santa Cruz have had a breakthrough in understanding why these marine creatures have contracted a horrific disease that causes them to tear themselves apart. The bad news is there’s no easy fix – and the dying likely won’t stop anytime soon.

Read the rest at: Inhabitat