Teetering near endangered status, the starlet sea anemone produces “an ancient mechanism” for fighting viruses that researchers called “counterintuitive.” Floating outside the salt marsh silt it usually nestles in, the starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) looks a little bit like a miniature squid or those alien heptapods from Arrival (2016). This tiny, translucent, tentacle monster has teetered... [4420 chars]