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Jul 20, 2023

The blood

By Aaron Scott , Emily Kwong , Gabriel Spitzer , Thomas Lu Worms in Sulphur Cave, Steamboat Springs, Colorado. These worms are believed to live on the chemical energy in the sulfur in the cave,

By

Aaron Scott

,

Emily Kwong

,

Gabriel Spitzer

,

Thomas Lu

Worms in Sulphur Cave, Steamboat Springs, Colorado. These worms are believed to live on the chemical energy in the sulfur in the cave, similar to the way tube worms live in a world without light at the bottom of the ocean. Also visible on the left side of the image are streamers — colonies of microorganism, similar to those seen in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. Norman R. Thompson hide caption

Worms in Sulphur Cave, Steamboat Springs, Colorado. These worms are believed to live on the chemical energy in the sulfur in the cave, similar to the way tube worms live in a world without light at the bottom of the ocean. Also visible on the left side of the image are streamers — colonies of microorganism, similar to those seen in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.

In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. live blood-red worm blobs that have attracted international scientific interest. We don special breathing gear and go into the cave with David Steinmann, the spelunking scientist who first documented the worms, and a trio of science students from Georgia Tech. There, we collect worms and marvel at the unique crystals and cave formations (ever heard of snottites??) that earned Sulphur Cave a designation as a National Natural Landmark in 2021. Then we learn how extremophiles like these worms are helping scientists search for new antibiotics, medicines and — in the case of the Georgia Tech team — models for worm blob robots that can explore uneven, dangerous terrain, like caves on other planets.

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This episode was produced by Thomas Lu, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact-checked by Rachel Carlson. The audio engineers were Gilly Moon and Josh Newell.