Fossils help identify a lone `bright spot` in a similar state to coral reefs before human impact
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) discovered a massive, 7,000-year-old fossilized coral reef near the institute`s Bocas del Toro Research Station in Panama. Spanning about 50 hectares, it rewards paleontologists with an unusual glimpse of a `pristine` reef that formed before humans arrived.