How do most organisms in the natural world communicate? According to researchers who study the ocean, it’s through the language of chemistry.

At Scripps Institution of Oceanography, marine biologists Bradley Moore and Natalie Grayson explore how ocean life uses molecules as a kind of language—chemical cues that can shape what organisms do and how they interact with their environments. In other words, chemistry isn’t just something that happens in seawater; it’s part of how life in the ocean functions.

These discoveries are explored in a recent UCTV program, Harnessing Nature’s Innovations from the Sea, where Moore and Grayson share how this molecular language reveals the ocean’s hidden dynamics.

They point to vivid examples. A pigment helps squid and octopus change color for camouflage. Corals, working alongside their microbial partners, can produce biologically active compounds. These molecules can be central to survival, cooperation, and adaptation in a world where everything is in constant motion.

Moore and Grayson also connect this chemical storytelling to human health, such as a compound currently used in clinical trials to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

This exciting research into the ocean’s chemical messages has relevance for developing new materials in biotech, as well as improving the food supply and human health.

To hear more about the ocean’s secret language, watch Harnessing Nature’s Innovations from the Sea.