Researchers from University of Galway are part of an international team testing the feasibility of restoring deep-sea coral habitats damaged by bottom trawling by installing 3D-printed artificial reefs. Twenty-three artificial reefs have been placed on the deep seabed off the south-west Porcupine Bank, off the west coast of Ireland and in the Bay of Biscay, France, as a contribution to the Horizon Europe project ‘REDRESS’ (Restoration of deep-sea habitats to rebuild European Seas). The current campaign is part of, a three-year mission known as the REDECOR (REstauration DEs CORaux d'eau froide), involving collaboration between researchers from University of Galway, Ifremer and the Sorbonne University in France.  The expedition to deploy the artificial reefs took place on board L’Atalante, a vessel of the French Oceanographic Fleet, during August. Reefs were placed at depths between 900 and 1100m off the Porcupine Bank, and in the Guilvinec Canyon, Bay of Biscay, where other reefs installed during the 2025 expedition were also monitored. Monitoring of both Irish and French restoration sites is planned next year on board an Irish research vessel. Dr Anthony Grehan, a deep-sea ecologist at University of Galway and co-leader of the mission to the Porcupine Bank, said: “These deep-sea coral reefs provide vital habitat for a diversity of marine life, but many have been damaged over many years. Because these corals grow by only a few millimetres each year, natural recovery of lost reefs can take decades to centuries. With this project, we are testing whether we can actively accelerate that recovery by creating new starter structures for corals to grow on which also mimic reef structure to help re-establish functioning reef habitats. The early results are very encouraging, and if we can show that these approaches work, it could open up new possibilities to scale up the restoration of damaged coral reefs elsewhere in the Atlantic and beyond.” While cold-water coral reefs are regarded as being less well-known than their tropical cousins, they provide important habitats for marine life and support biodiversity in the deep-sea including fish. The corals however are quite fragile and easily damaged by deep-sea trawling. While recent fisheries and conservation regulations prohibit trawling in many areas where corals are found, the issue now is how to return damaged areas to full health. Marie-Claire Fabri, a research engineer in deep-sea benthic ecology at Ifremer and co-leader of the Bay of Biscay region expedition, said: “Preserving these areas alone is not enough; the active restoration of cold-water corals is urgently needed. The ban on bottom trawling has helped stop the direct pressure on these habitats, but to go further - given the slow growth of these corals in the Atlantic - just a few millimeters per year—we cannot simply wait for them to recover on their own.” The artificial reefs are eco-designed cylinders made from low-carbon concrete incorporating volcanic material. Each 3D-printed structure is approximately 80cm high and 100cm in diameter, weighing around 600kg. They provide structurally complex physical microhabitats including tunnels, ledges and overhangs, that offer shelter and provide surfaces for corals and other marine life to colonise. The reefs are placed individually on the seabed, rather than together to form a single connected structure covering an area of about half a hectare. Researchers will monitor the sites over the coming years through photography, video and 3D mapping to assess how the coral and other marine life develop on and around the reefs. Different approaches are being tested as part of the research. Some reefs were equipped with oyster shells, ceramic plates and tiles to encourage coral larvae to settle naturally, while others were fitted with fragments (‘nubbins’) of living coral. The living coral fragments were collected from the ocean in depths of around 950 metres. Once brought to the surface, they were kept in seawater tanks under conditions designed to replicate their natural environment. Small branches were then taken from the colonies and attached to oyster shells before being anchored on the artificial reefs. The team is focusing its research on the two principal reef-forming species of cold-water coral, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. The aim is to see whether the coral can survive and establish new colonies or enhance the attractiveness of the artificial reefs for colonisation by coral larvae.   Encouragingly, researchers found that the coral fragments, known as nubbins, which were placed on the artificial reefs during the REDECOR 2025 mission are still alive. The reefs have also been colonised by a range of marine species, including sea urchins, fish, crabs and crinoids. The research will also monitor seawater conditions, sediment and chemical contaminants. This will help improve understanding of the conditions needed for healthy coral growth and assess the potential impact of climate change and ocean acidification on restoration efforts. Both restoration sites are now protected from further damage by bottom trawling. The SW Porcupine Bank restoration site is protected under the European Common Fisheries Policy, where trawling is prohibited at depths greater than 800 metres. The Guilvinec Canyon in the Bay of Biscay is a Natura 2000 site where trawling is also prohibited. REDECOR forms part of the European REDRESS (Restoration of deep-sea habitats to rebuild European Seas) project, which is bringing together 27 partners from 15 countries to investigate the restoration of damaged deep-sea habitats across Europe. The research is funded by the European Union through the REDRESS project, the French Oceanographic Fleet, Ifremer and the Sorbonne University. REDRESS partners from the UK, Iceland and Italy have also installed the same artificial reef modules in their restoration sites in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean which will provide a pan-European perspective on the feasibility of using these reefs to actively promote restoration of areas where coral habitat has been damaged. The researchers expect that results from REDECOR and REDRESS will help inform implementation of the new European Nature Restoration Law which provides targets to restore damaged areas of sponge, coral, and coralligenous algae. Ends

Scientists at University of Galway have taken part in a first-in-human study on stroke patients using a thin wire fitted with sensors to assess and map the clot they have experienced.  The study involved the use of a guidewire called Clotild, which has been developed by medtech company Sensome. It can navigate arteries through a catheter, with tiny electrical sensors built into its tip, moving through a clot and continuously measuring how well different tissues conduct a small current. Red blood cells, platelets and arterial walls each have distinct electrical "fingerprints" which can be individually identified in real-time by the device’s prediction model.  Some 41 people who had suffered a large vessel occlusion stroke were enrolled in the trial at hospitals in Australia and France to assess the performance of the device and how it reports the clot.  The trial was led by Dr Andrew Cheung of Liverpool Hospital, NSW, Australia and Aymeric Rouchaud, France, with a device developed using clot analysis by Professor Karen Doyle, University of Galway and the Research Ireland funded Rinn Medical Devices Centre.  Professor Karen Doyle said: "This first-in-human study represents an important step forward in how we understand and treat stroke patients. Being able to characterise clot composition in real time, during the procedure itself, has real potential to help clinicians tailor their approach to treating each patient and improve outcomes. It's been a privilege to contribute to the research underpinning this trial, and to see fundamental device research translated into a technology now being tested directly in patients."  Every year, millions of people globally suffer a stroke caused by a blood clot blocking an artery in the brain. The gold standard treatment is a procedure called mechanical thrombectomy, where a tiny device is threaded through blood vessels to physically pull the clot out. Research has shown that removing a clot in a single pass dramatically improves a patient's chances of recovery. While this method can be successful, surgeons go in almost blind, knowing very little about the clot they are about to tackle, what it is made of, or where exactly it ends.  The trial is the first time a potential solution to this issue has been tested in humans.  The possibility of removing a clot in one pass depends partly on clot composition: clots rich in red blood cells behave differently to those packed with platelets. Until now, the only way to find this out was to analyse retrieved clot fragments under a microscope following a procedure - too late to change the surgical strategy.  The results from the trial were unambiguous: not a single patient experienced a vessel perforation or dissection, the most feared complication of guidewire use in the brain.  On performance, Clotild proved remarkably accurate. Its ability to distinguish red-blood-cell-rich clots from platelet-rich ones scored 0.97 and 0.94 respectively on a standard accuracy scale where 1.0 is perfect.  The device was also able to detect the artery wall and the far end of the clot, information a surgeon could use to gauge clot length without injecting contrast dye.  One of the most striking demonstrations came when the team reconstructed a full compositional "map" of a clot based on Clotild's continuous readings as it passed through. The map, showing which sections were red-blood-cell-rich and which were not, matched what histology later revealed about the retrieved clot fragments.  Dr Cheung said: “This trial shows that impedance-based clot characterisation is not only feasible but can be integrated safely into standard procedure. It's the result of a genuinely international effort, and I want to thank our collaborators across Australia, France, USA and Ireland, for their contribution to the device development and data analysis that made these results possible."  Dr Franz Bozsak, CEO of Sensome, said: "Bringing Clotild from concept to first-in-human trial has depended on close collaboration between industry and academic research partners. The expertise contributed by our academic partners across the globe has been invaluable in helping us validate and refine the science behind this technology. This kind of partnership is exactly how we believe medical devices should be developed, grounded in rigorous academic research and tested rapidly in clinical settings."  Professor Doyle added: “As a proof of concept this is compelling. The vision is a future where, before a surgeon even selects a retrieval device, they already know exactly what kind of clot they are dealing with, giving stroke patients a meaningfully better chance of getting it out first time.”  The research paper associated with the trial can be accessed on the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery https://jnis.bmj.com/content/early/2026/04/30/jnis-2025-024772 Ends  

An artist-designed elephant sculpture has been installed at Shannon College of Hotel Management as part of the international mental health initiative, Elephant in the Room. The ‘Elephant for Sarah’ was officially launched in the atrium of Shannon College by Brent Pope, co-founder of the Elephant in the Room initiative, a social movement using public art to spark open, honest conversations about mental health. He addressed the college students about the importance of normalising discussions around mental wellbeing and seeking support. Shannon College of Hotel Management alumna, Maeve O’Keeffe’s niece Sarah died by suicide following a struggle with her mental health. Maeve’s family has donated the ‘Elephant for Sarah’ to the college in her memory. Sarah’s sister, Anna O’Farrell, is channelling her grief into a powerful force for good, raising funds to create a small herd of Elephant in the Room sculptures in memory of her beloved sister. To date, Anna has raised over €86,000 as part of this collaboration with the movement and Shannon College is honoured to receive an elephant in Sarah’s memory. Anna O’Farrell said: "We chose Shannon College because we want every student there to know that they can come and ask for help, and to be open about how they're feeling rather than hide it. That's exactly what Sarah would have wanted for others, because she felt she couldn't do that herself." Brent Pope, Co-founder of Elephant in the Room, said: “Everyone has an ‘Elephant in the Room’, and this initiative is about starting conversations early before they develop into larger issues impacting students’ wellbeing. It’s also about encouraging kindness - we never know what someone else might be going through in their day or life. Many young people only seek mental wellbeing support at a crisis stage, so early intervention is vital. We need to normalise discussions around mental wellbeing and make it a daily priority, just like physical health. “This initiative aims to give young people better tools to navigate life’s challenges, particularly within the learning environment, while fostering a culture of inclusion and care. “We are very grateful to Anna O'Farrell for donating this elephant sculpture to the college in memory of her beloved sister Sarah, through the Elephant for Sarah initiative.” Orla Cullinane, Associate Head of Student Welfare in Shannon College of Hotel Management, said: “Shannon College of Hotel Management is delighted and very honoured to be involved in the Elephant in the Room initiative. “The elephant who will have pride of place in our college atrium will serve as a visible reminder that conversations about mental health should never be hidden or avoided. As a college community, we recognise and sadly have experience of the profound impact of suicide and loss, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive, compassionate environment where every student feels they belong, are supported, and can speak openly without fear of judgement. We hope this initiative encourages our students and staff to check in with one another, seek support when needed, and keep the conversation going.” Founded by Brent Pope and Eoin Byrne in 2021, Elephant in the Room has grown from a grassroots idea into an international initiative. Brightly painted, artist-designed baby elephant sculptures are placed in prominent locations as visible symbols of hope, permission, and care, letting people know they are in a place that supports mental wellbeing and a reminder that it’s okay to talk. Maeve O’Keeffe graduated in 1991 and her daughter Molly Wallace has just started her 4th year at Shannon College of Hotel Management.   Read more about the 'Elephant for Sarah' here:  www.universityofgalway.ie/shannoncollege/student-life/. For more about Elephant in the Room visit: www.elephantintheroom.ie. Ends