After a decade of mystery, scientists have cracked the case of what wiped out over 5 billion sea stars along the Pacific coast. Turns out, a sneaky bacterium was behind the gruesome sea star wasting disease that left these ocean icons literally falling apart. Now that we know the culprit, there’s hope for saving the remaining sea stars—and maybe even bringing back those lush kelp forests that so many sea creatures call home. Nature’s drama, right? #Science #SeaStars #OceanMystery