Blog Post Image: Study Tests Theory that Life Originated at Deep Sea Vents

Making methanethiol from the chemicals available in hydrothermal black smoker fluids was thought to have been an easy process. To test this theory, the researchers collected fluids in isobaric gas-tight samplers (IGTs) from black smokers and analyzed them for the presence of methanethiol. Image credit: Chris German, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution