Areas like this microbial community on the seafloor are epicenters of microbial interaction, and based on what we learned from exploring nature on land, may hold the potential for great discoveries. Neosporin antibiotic ointment is made up of the three antibiotics neomycin, polymyxin and bacitracin, all from soil bacteria; the original statin drug was discovered from a fungus; the cancer drug Taxol was originally isolated from the Pacific Yew tree; and the metastatic breast cancer drug Halaven is derived from a marine sponge. What help can methane seeps provide for diseases of today and tomorrow?
Microbial Community
Image courtesy of Oregon State University, NOAA OER, NOAA OCNMS, Ocean Exploration Trust, NA-121. Download larger version (jpg, 5.3 MB).

Areas like this microbial community on the seafloor are epicenters of microbial interaction, and based on what we learned from exploring nature on land, may hold the potential for great discoveries. Neosporin antibiotic ointment is made up of the three antibiotics neomycin, polymyxin and bacitracin, all from soil bacteria; the original statin drug was discovered from a fungus; the cancer drug Taxol was originally isolated from the Pacific Yew tree; and the metastatic breast cancer drug Halaven is derived from a marine sponge. What help can methane seeps provide for diseases of today and tomorrow?

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