Nathan Bodensteiner, University of Washington, VISIONS’25
The deep sea is one of Earth’s last unexplored frontiers. Far below the sunlit surface of our oceans lies an alien world—a realm of perpetual darkness that is nevertheless home to astonishing life forms uniquely adapted to survive extreme conditions. Among the most hostile environments on Earth are underwater hot springs, known as hydrothermal vents, which emit metal- and gas-rich fluids at temperatures exceeding 400 °C. In these superheated, acidic, oxygen-deprived waters, life thrives against all odds. Here, to uncover life’s secrets, scientists study DNA—the universal code of life. By using molecular science to study deep-sea organisms that rely on chemical energy rather than sunlight, researchers are transforming what were once thought to be barren, inhospitable landscapes into powerful stories of life’s resilience

The genetic material of deep-sea microbes not only reveals how life endures such extremes, but also drives innovation on the surface. One powerful example is Taq polymerase, a heat-resistant enzyme from vent-dwelling bacteria that made modern DNA amplification possible.

New technologies now let scientists sample these hidden worlds directly. At Axial Seamount, the most active submarine volcano off the U.S. Pacific Northwest, long-term DNA and fluid monitoring as part of NSF’s Regional Cabled Array underwater observatory, is revealing who lives there, how they survive, and how their unique genomes may lead to future advances in biotechnology.