Washington. Giovanni Chimienti, Research Fellow at the Department of Biology, University of Bari, selected by the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society; has been given the responsibility of a project to explore a little known area of the depths of the Apulia region, near the Tremiti Islands. Thanks to funding for young researchers granted by SKY and the National Geographic Society, Chimienti managed to bring international attention to the existence of little explored marine habitats along the Apulian coasts – making the University of Bari an active part of an Apulian exploration project. The aim of the project will be to study the so-called black corals – beings able to form real and rich underwater forests and of great importance in marine ecology. They are habitats that are still little known although heavily threatened by human activity. (9Colonne)