Saudi Arabia's acacia trees do more than shape the landscape. They support pollinators, honey production, wildlife and local livelihoods. In this @ArabNews feature, BESE faculty Thomas Crowther @TWCrowther explains why protecting mature acacia woodlands is just as important as planting new trees. "Protecting these established ecosystems should therefore always be the first priority." Read more: arabnews.com/green-blue/beyo… #KAUST #BESE #Biodiversity #EcosystemRestoration #SaudiArabia #Sustainability

What if you could recreate Mars on Earth? 🚀 Researchers in the lab of Alexandre Rosado @Rosado_AS have built a Planetary Simulation Chamber at KAUST, designed to recreate Mars-like conditions and study how life responds to extreme environments. The insights could help advance both future space exploration and solutions to challenges here on Earth. @WorldSpaceWeek @KAUST_News #WorldSpaceWeek #WSW2026 #SpaceWeek #Astrobiology #SpaceBiology #KAUST

Interested in pursuing a Master’s or PhD at KAUST? 🎓 Join the upcoming Discover KAUST – Program Focus Webinar Series and hear directly from KAUST faculty, students, and staff about our graduate programs, research opportunities, and what we look for in applicants. 🔬 BESE | 5 October apply.kaust.edu.sa/register/…… 🧬 BioMed | 6 October apply.kaust.edu.sa/register/…… 💻 CEMSE | 6 October apply.kaust.edu.sa/register/…… ⚙️ PSE | 7 October apply.kaust.edu.sa/register/…… Choose the session closest to your field — or join more than one! All sessions are online. We look forward to seeing you at KAUST’s Program Focus sessions!

In BESE’s Marine Ecological Genomics course, students explored whether ordinary photographs could be used to measure coral bleaching. What started as a course project grew into a published research paper, with all the students from the course now as co-authors. A pretty great example of where teaching can lead. Read the paper: link.springer.com/article/10…

كل التهاني لوطننا الغالي في يومه الوطني، ولمسيرته الطموحة في العلم والاستدامة

Happy Saudi National Day.​ ​ Across KAUST, we are answering difficult questions, building new capabilities and applying science, research and innovation to the Kingdom’s ambitions. ​ ​ This Saudi National Day, we are inspired by the traits – courage, vision, authenticity, determination, generosity and hospitality – at the heart of our national identity and celebrate them through six members of our KAUST community. ​ ​ Wishing all a proud and joyful Saudi National Day.​ #SaudiNationalDay #OutPrideisInOurNature #KAUST

Congratulations to BESE alumni Banan Alhazmi and CEMSE alumni Rawan Alghamdi on receiving the MIT–KACST Ibn Khaldun Fellowship for Saudi Arabian Women. A proud moment for Saudi women in STEM. Read the full story: kaust.edu.sa/en/news/two-kau…

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of desalinated water, and researchers at KAUST are exploring how artificial intelligence can make water production more efficient and sustainable, from predicting membrane performance and detecting fouling early to reducing energy use and improving process control. Great to see this conversation featuring BESE faculty Noreddine Ghaffour and highlighting the work happening around the future of water. Worth a read: arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/ho…

Congratulations to BESE’s Professor Raquel Peixoto @peixotors on becoming President of Applied Microbiology International. A well-deserved recognition of her leadership in microbial science and coral conservation. More: appliedmicrobiology.org/reso…

Microbial therapies could help Red Sea corals remain healthier during natural marine heatwaves. Working in the field, the team found that both live probiotics and inactivated postbiotics improved coral health. Postbiotics are particularly promising for reef restoration because they may be easier to store, transport, and scale for broader use. Congratulations to postdoctoral fellow @ErikaPSantoro and colleagues on this important Marine Science work.

يسعدنا تسليط الضوء على هذا العمل من برنامج علوم البحار، الذي يبيّن القيمة الغذائية المهمة للافقاريات المائية. أبحاث كهذه تُظهر حجم ما يمكن أن يسهم به المحيط في بناء نظم غذائية أكثر صحة واستدامة. تهانينا للبروفيسورة جيسيكا زامبورين ميسون @JZamborainMason والفريق على هذا الإنجاز المهم.

Great to see this work from our Marine Science Program highlighting the important nutritional value of aquatic invertebrates. Research like this shows how much potential there is in the ocean to contribute to healthier and more sustainable food systems. Congratulations to Professor Jessica Zamborain Mason @JZamborainMason and the team on this important work!

700 million years of cell evolution is a pretty incredible thing to think about. A new study from KAUST, published in Nature Communications, uses AI to trace how cell types across very different species are connected - looking beyond genes themselves to the functions they perform. The paper, “Unify learns cellular evolution with universal multimodal embeddings,” is a fascinating look at what AI can bring to evolutionary biology. Worth a read: discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/ar… Read the paper: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-7… #CellBiology #Evolution #ArtificialIntelligence #KAUST

🌱 Seagrass could be a much bigger part of the climate finance conversation. New research led by KAUST faculty member Professor Carlos Duarte @carlosduartephd estimates a potential modeled carbon-credit market value of up to US$2.3T under high-value carbon market scenarios. A powerful intersection of science, conservation & finance. kaust.edu.sa/en/news/climate… #BlueCarbon #ClimateFinance #BlueEconomy