Skip to main content
Back to Show
I Contain Multitudes

How Giant Tube Worms Survive at Hydrothermal Vents

Season 1 Episode 3

In this episode, Ed talks to Colleen Cavanaugh and finds out how the tubeworm can live in complete darkness and, more curiously, without even having a mouth or anus. In a process called chemosynthesis, symbiotic bacteria inside the tubeworm use hydrogen sulfide spewed from the vents as an energy source for themselves and for the worms.

Support Provided By
Solving Crimes with the Necrobiome
7:10
We can’t talk to the dead, but in their own way, the dead can speak to us.
Microbes from Mom — Vaginal Birth vs C-Section
9:12
Do you remember your first birthday present? No? Good, because it’s gross.
Can a Fungus Save Plants from Global Warming?
8:02
Let's put plants in the spotlight and focus on their best microbial partner: Fungi.
Fecal Microbiota Transplants: The Ins and Outs of FMT
7:22
To scientists like Mark Smith, poop is more than just waste – it’s medicine.
A World Without Microbes: An Apocalyptic Thought Experiment
7:02
A world without microbes seems at first like a utopia, but let’s take a deeper look.
Nature's Cutest Symbiosis: The Bobtail Squid
8:05
An unlikely alliance with bacteria gives this squid an amazing superpower: Invisibility.
A Wasp Mom’s Gift: Blankets of Bacteria
9:10
You don’t want to be a honeybee when the beewolf is on the prowl.
Mosquitoes Might SAVE Lives, Thanks To Bacteria
9:04
Science is inching closer to an unlikely solution to Dengue fever. Bacteria.
Superbugs That Resist Antibiotics Can Evolve in 11 Days
8:51
Antibiotics have a key role in medicine, but using them is not a decision made lightly.
Termites Digest Wood Thanks To Microbes
7:12
The next time you spot a termite eating on wood, know that they’re not dining alone.
Active loading indicator