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Coral reefs are getting eroded due to global waming and raised levels of acidic water. So scientists are trying to create evolved forms of coral reefs in order to save them, according to The Guardian.

Coral reefs can be harmed by bleaching, which is a process in which they secrete an algae making reefs white or yellowish. Bleaching is a symptom of the diseased coral reef that may die any moment.

This spells doom for the plant. About 30 percent of the world's coral reef population is already dead.

"The bleaching has intensified and got much more serious," said Ruth Gates, director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Hence, Gates with her team is employing "assisted evolution," involving speeding up or changing a species' evolutionary path in order to focus on certain characteristics, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

Hence, the team took coral with strong genetic traits and put them in slightly harsher situations, so that during their breeding, they will create new coral to take the stronger genes forward, according to USA Today.

"We've given them experiences that we think are going to raise their ability to survive stress," said Gates.