A Paralvinella hessleri specimen with buccal tentacles and a bright yellow color The fluids that bubble up from underneath the Earth here contain high levels of the chemical compound sulfide and the ...

It is well known that natural gas hydrates, crystalline lattices of hydrogen-bonded water molecules that encapsulate small hydrocarbon molecules, on the ocean floors constitute both a potential ...

Glittery sea worms and sea squirts fit for "The Lord of the Rings" universe might sound like pure fantasy, but they're very ...

Deep in the Pacific Ocean, a tiny bright yellow worm called Paralvinella hessleri thrives where almost nothing else can, around boiling hydrothermal vents that gush metal-rich, poisonous fluids. These ...

Image of the alvinellid worm, Paralvinella hessleri. A P. hessleri specimen with buccal tentacles extroverted, lateral view. Note that the animal has a bright yellow color A deep sea worm that ...

Worms that inhabit hydrothermal vents combine environmental arsenic and sulfide to form a nontoxic mineral to survive in a harsh environment. Unlike this vibrant worm, most other deep-sea denizens ...

To blunt the toxic arsenic in the waters where it lives, a deep-sea worm combines it with another chemical to produce a less toxic compound. By Jack Tamisiea Arsenic is a toxic metal, and exposure to ...

Orpiment is a bright golden pigment adored by Renaissance painters. It also happens to be deeply toxic. Despite its toxicity, the substance is key to the survival of a particularly hardy species of ...

A deep-sea worm that lives in hydrothermal vents is the first known animal to create orpiment, a toxic, arsenic-containing mineral that was used by artists for centuries A bright-yellow worm that ...

At the bottom of the ocean, where metal-rich hydrothermal vents exhale poison, a bright yellow worm has mastered an impossible art: turning lethal elements into armor. Meet Paralvinella hessleri, the ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Life can be pretty difficult in the ocean’s hydrothermal vents ...