Truth Theory: [2] According to a new study conducted by a team of researchers from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), creatures in the ocean have acted as a natural defense against viruses for the human population. In a series of lab experiments, a team led by marine ecologist Jennifer Welsh observed marine organisms to see how they interacted with viruses in their ecosystem. The study was published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. [3] The team studied 10 different animal species, but found that crabs, cockles, oysters, and sponges were the best at filtering viruses.