Scientists affiliated with the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said that a rapid analysis showed climate change did not reduce rainfall directly, but that high temperatures likely reduced water availability and worsened the impacts of drought. Scientists grow sea stars in lab to understand mass die-off along Pacific Coast A few hours from Seattle at a location that can only be reached by boat, marine scientists at University of Washington's Friday Harbor lab are breeding and studying endangered sunflower sea stars following a massive die-off over the past decade.