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Scientists are finding microbial life in places they never expected — in boiling water, inside rocks, under ice, and even at the bottom of the ocean where it's dark, cold and the pressure is very high. These microbes are called extremophiles, and scientists are looking to them for clues as to what some alien life might be like. |  |
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Europa Quiz
3) Which creature can swing large distances at the end of its tether in order to feed on the clouds of bacteria that are randomly expelled from chimney vents?
 Kites are filter feeders that must always be in microbe-rich water to feed directly on the bacteria. By swelling and shrinking its body, the kite can slip back and forth in the relatively constant updraft of the ocean current.
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 Floaters use bacteria to make food. Floaters have gills that remove hydrogen sulfide from the water and transport it into their bacteria-laden tissues. The bacteria process the hydrogen sulfide so that the Floaters can metabolize the carbon compound by-products.
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