Scientists are moving for the preservation of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, by putting 70 billion sperm and 22 billion coral embryos in a liquid nitrogen chamber of -196°C for the preservation and future regeneration of the reef.

Researcher hopes to grow in-vitro reefs which can be used to reseed wild populations in a few years.

The Great Barrier Reef, located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia,is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.

The reef , which was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981, is built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps,, and supports a wide diversity of life. CNN labeled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and any loss of the reef could be devastating to tourism and to marine life.

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"We know the Great Barrier Reef is in deep, deep trouble because of a number of different things - global threats including climate change and acidification of waters as well as the warming of waters," said Rebecca Spindler, the project's director.

"We will never have as much genetic diversity again as we do right now on the reef, this is our last opportunity to save as much as we possibly can."

According to Spindler, Australia's corals had so far escape damage from climate change, disease and human impacts seen in the world's other reefs, but she said the next few years could be critical.

"We've had a little bit [of damage], but really just a taste, and I think the next five years are going to be incredibly important in terms of maintaining the health of the reef and capturing as much of that genetic diversity as we possibly can," she said.

Spindler added that any loss of the reef , worth some A$6bn in tourism annually, would be devastating, and not only to the one-third of all marine species that occupy a reef at some point in their lives.

"We also know they provide, just physically, structures [that] keep wave action down and stop areas from being impacted by tidal waves," said Spindler.

"Ecologically, economically and socially we can't lose these reefs, we just can't," she said.

Spindler's team, which is working with Hawaii-based Mary Hagedorn from the Smithsonian Institute, also plans a catalog of coral species to ensure against increasing bleaching due to ocean warming and acidification, chemical run-off, dredging and damage from cyclones and floods.

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