Hydrothermal Vents Essay

The existence of life in the extremely harsh conditions of hydrothermal vents has stimulated an increasing research effort on the diversity, ecology, and physiology of vent organisms, as well as new avenues of research into the origins of life on Earth and even into the occurrence of life elsewhere within and outside the solar system (Russell et al, 2008). Several decades of exploration have resulted in the detection of numerous vent sites and faunal assemblages at many mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins (Rogers et al, 2012). The depths of the ocean went thousands of years without ever being discovered, and once it was known that life was sustainable without sunlight a whole new world opened up to new discoveries. However, inconsistency in

There are so many forms of life that still need to be discovered. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether the samples provided by the NSF are dead, alive, organic or inorganic. The samples provided were obtained from the deep ocean depths of hydrothermal vents. A variety of tests will be performed to determine whether the samples are alive, dead, organic or inorganic. Once it is determined if the samples are dead, alive, organic or inorganic, then conclusions can be made about evidence of life or not at extreme depths of the sea in hostile environments. The tests performed to determine these characteristics are: a Feulgen Stain test to determine if the sample contains DNA or not, a Fat test to determine the absence or presence of fats and oils, an Iodine test to determine the absence or presence of starch, a Biuret test to determine whether the sample contains protein or not, a Benedict’s test to determine whether the sample contains a low, high or no amount of reducing sugars, and finally a Tetrazolium test to determine whether the sample is alive or