Yellow Worm Transforms Ocean Toxins into Survival Crystals

swift Summary

• A study published in PLOS Biology explores how the deep-sea worm paralvinella hessleri survives hydrothermal vents containing arsenic and sulfide.
• The worm, found in the west Pacific, accumulates arsenic in it’s skin cells and combines it with sulfide to form a less toxic mineral called orpiment.
• Sometimes, arsenic constitutes over 1% of the worm’s body weight.
• Researchers discovered this detoxification mechanism using microscopy, DNA analysis, and spectroscopy tools.
• Similar mechanisms may exist in related worms worldwide and some snail species also found near hydrothermal vents.
• Drs. Hao Wang and Chaolun Li highlighted both scientific novelty and historical curiosity regarding orpiment as a historically prized material for artists during the Renaissance era.
• Researchers aim for future studies focusing network interactions specific-bound environment relations

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