danger from the deep

the biology of the bugs living under extreme physical conditions in the deep sea, around black smokers and hot springs, has always been a bit of an eccentric border of science. But now it appears from the first two genomes of such bacteria that some of the very common pathogens troubling our tummies owe some of their crucial virulence factors exactly to those eccentric deep sea organisms. (after all, our stomach is an extreme environment, too!)
Read my story here: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/July/03070701.asp

for more info on extremophiles in the deep sea and indeed in our stomachs, consult my book,
Life on the Edge:
http://www.geocities.com/michaelgrr/edge.html