Mon December 5, 2011 The Deep-Sea Find That Changed Biology
Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:14 am In 1977, a
small crew of oceanographers traveled to the bottom of the
Pacific Ocean and stumbled across a brand new form of life. The
discovery was so unusual, it turned biology on its head and
brought into question much of what scientists thought they knew
about where life can form and what it needs in order to survive.
Today, the Smithsonian Institution houses that remarkable
discovery: a pale and fleshy, 4-foot-long worm that floats in
the kind of pickle jar you'd see in your neighborhood
delicatessen. It might not look like much now, but Kristian
Fauchald, the Smithsonian's curator of worms, says that in 1977,
this worm had everyone scratching their heads. At up to 7 feet
in length, he says, "these are enormous beasts compared to
normal worms." And they were thriving in large numbers without
any obvious source of food or light. "This," Fauchald says,
holding up the worm, "is something absolutely un