How a polluted New York City waterway created extremophiles hungry for 'black mayonnaise'

How microbes limited the damage and helped clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

A bloom estimated to contain about 100 sextillion microbial cells broke down much of the 4.1 million barrels of spilled crude oil into nontoxic compounds in what was one of the most significant bioremediations of a human-made disaster. The microbes involved acted similarly to the first patented genetically modified organism in US history: an oil-eating bacterium engineered in 1971.

The Love Canal disaster exposed the dangers of buried toxic waste

In the late 1970s, residents of Niagara Falls, New York, discovered their neighborhood was built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste. Leaking toxins caused illness and birth defects, sparking nationwide outrage and leading to the creation of the EPA's Superfund cleanup program in 1980.

How scientists are using molecules found in acidophiles to develop new medical treatments

The Berkeley Pit, an open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana, that ceased operations in 1982 and is now filled with highly acidic water, is home to various species of fungi and yeast. These extremophiles produce unique compounds that may have anti-inflammatory benefits and have already been used to create an antibiotic for staph infections.

Before modern sanitation, New York City let pigs roam the streets to eat its garbage

In the early 1820s, an estimated 20,000 hogs roamed Manhattan's streets, feeding on trash that the city lacked a system to collect. Pigs were eventually banned at the urging of wealthy residents, who feared they would deter tourists and drive down property values.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

View the industrial applications of extremozymes, from food safety to antibiotic production

Extremophiles possess unique enzymes and organic molecules that have enabled them to adapt to and thrive in otherwise lethal environments. Because these conditions resemble those found in various areas of manufacturing and production plants, these organisms and their macromolecules can optimize industrial processes where conventional catalysts would lose their ability to speed up reactions.

The canal carried germs as well as goods

In 1832, North America’s first cholera epidemic spread inland by way of the Erie Canal, carried by immigrants arriving on ships. Fearful towns barred passengers from disembarking, yet cholera, smallpox, and other diseases still traveled the waterway.

A look at hydrothermal vents, where barophiles and hyperthermophiles survive boiling water

Discovered in 1977 during an exploration of the Galapagos Rift, these seafloor openings spew hot magma and chemicals that heat seawater to hundreds of degrees. Without the sunlight found at depths of less than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), extremophiles in these environments convert released chemicals into energy to survive, alongside surviving extreme pressures.

Sewage on cruise ships is cleaned onboard by bacteria and advanced filtration systems

A cruise ship's onboard sewage plant processes black water, human waste or sewage, and gray water, wastewater from sinks, showers, and washing machines. Treated water is stored until the ship reaches a distance where it can legally discharge it.

View the rainbow effect on the waters at First Landing State Park

The phenomenon results from light interacting with a thin film of natural oils on the surface of swamps and marshes at the site, not unlike the coloration seen in soap bubbles. The oils originate from decaying vegetation or from anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

How spoiled meat helped uncover a bacterium that can survive the vacuum of space

When a can of ground beef and pork spoiled despite attempts to sterilize it with gamma radiation, researcher Arthur Anderson isolated the bacteria in the food and discovered Deinococcus radiodurans. The polyextremophile has since been found on the walls of nuclear reactors and overcomes radiation damage through highly optimized DNA repair mechanisms.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Essential pipes, sewers, and cables lie buried beneath New York City

The Department of Design and Construction offers a tour of its work sites, explaining the complex systems that exist underground. Gas, electrical, telecom pipes, and many others, sprawl out underneath the entire city, with dozens of maps that help workers know where they're placed. This layout is unusual compared to the rest of the country, where wires are often present and visible above ground.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

How the methods of catching fish for food affects their taste

Commercially caught fish are often killed through suffocation, allowing the causing the fish extreme stress and flooding their bodies with stress hormones and lactic acid. These chemicals cause the fish's flesh to become bitter where it was once rich and quickens the rotting process.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Explaining the engineering challenges of extracting metal-rich nodules from the seafloor

Proposed solutions for collecting these potato-shaped rocks involve lifting a slurry composed of them, organic debris, and water through several kilometers of flexible tubing to a ship on the surface, a process that is more difficult than pumping crude oil. One method would use compressed air, but this method is only 15% energy-efficient.

Microplastics are entering human food chains through fertilized farmland

Microplastics from sewage sludge used as fertilizer contaminate agricultural soil and eventually enter our bodies through the food supply of carrots, wheat, and other foodstuffs. In Europe, farmland may absorb up to 710 trillion microplastic particles yearly.

The economics of horseshoe crab blood

Horseshoe crabs are older than dinosaurs and have survived five mass extinctions that wiped most life from the planet. But it's only now that their future as a species is in danger. This blood, worth about $60,000 per gallon, is hyper-sensitized to certain bacteria that are fatal to humans. This 17-minute podcast dives into humanity's pursuit of horseshoe crab blood, a "somewhat magical" mixture heavily relied on by the pharmaceutical industry.

How a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals—and what it means for other coastal areas

Utility data from 2024 indicates that Fair Isle, Britain's most remote inhabited island, has Scotland's highest level of toxic PFAS—forever chemicals—in its public drinking water. The level is still below Scotland's safety threshold, yet the high levels have confounded scientists and communities because there are no obvious industrial sources on the island. An investigation by The Guardian suggests those chemicals are arriving from thousands of miles away via seaspray and foam. PFAS are persistent pollutants that are chemically attracted to the interface between water and air—meaning there will likely be more of them in seafoam than there may be in the seawater itself.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

The Foolkiller: The mysterious submarine at the bottom of the Chicago River

In November 1915, a submarine was found at the bottom of the Chicago River. It had been there for at least 10 years, was 40 feet long, and contained the remains of a man and his dog. To this day, no one knows who built it.

How slugs helped soldiers during WWI

Slimy, squishy, slow-moving, and heroic? Slugs are land-dwelling mollusks known mostly for causing havoc in our gardens. But during World War I, slugs saved numerous soldier's lives as poison gas detectors. Learn how the unpleasant creatures earned their stripes in the battle to protect soldiers from chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas as organic detectors.

Multiple sugar substitutes were accidental discoveries when lab workers didn't wash their hands

Saccharin, aspartame, and cyclamate all have origin stories from lab workers tasting something sweet on their hands. A Johns Hopkins University worker in the late 1800s, for example, tasted something sweet on his (unwashed or poorly washed) hands during dinner, prompting him to then taste everything on his lab bench in order to identify that the sweetness was a compound derived from his overheated coal tar—a substance he later named saccharin. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Landfills capture methane gas and convert it into usable energy

As organic waste breaks down underground, it produces landfill gas that is roughly 50% methane. That gas can be captured and used to generate electricity or provide heat for nearby homes and businesses.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Exploring carbon compound pore structures contributed to improved gas mask filtration

During World War II, the British Coal Utilisation Research Association sought to improve the efficiency of coal as an energy source and studied the effectiveness of charcoal filters to keep soldiers safe. Rosalind Franklin's research there formed the basis of her PhD and led to five scientific papers.

How we helped make Aedes aegypti mosquitoes such a problem

Mosquito genome sequencing data suggests that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes first started specializing on human blood around 5,000 years ago—when climates shifted and humans started domesticating plants in Africa and stored large amounts of water that may have attracted the bugs.

Some invasive species can provide benefits to ecosystems over time

In the 1990s, round gobies were introduced into the Great Lakes, rapidly spreading and competing with local sculpin and logperch. However, Lake Erie watersnakes, which were on the endangered species list, shifted their diet to be almost entirely made up of the plentiful round gobies, contributing to their loss of endangered status in 2011.

Los Angeles once suffered some of the worst smog on Earth

From the 1940s through the 1960s, Los Angeles was blanketed by dense, eye-burning smog so severe that drivers sometimes couldn't see traffic lights. The issue led to the nation's first local air pollution controls and inspired the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.