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Seminar at Sea

Early during a cruise to hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise, microbiologist Costa Vetriani of Rutgers University gave a presentation to other members of the scientific team about the many kinds of bacteria they were likely to find at the vents. Biologists think life on Earth may have begun in habitats like hydrothermal vents, so studying the organisms that live there now can tell us something about life’s origins. The cruise, led by WHOI microbiologist Stefan Sievert, included researchers from around the world and was featured as a Dive and Discover expedition.(Photo by David Levin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)