Hydrothermal vents, crevices in the earth’s surface out of which geothermal heat flows, were first discovered 200 miles off the coast of the Galapagos in a 1977 expedition. In what’s been described as one of the greatest biological discoveries of all time, scientists aboard Alvin, a deep sea research submarine operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discovered the vents, which tend to form in places where there is volcanic activity and which have their own unique environment. The fluid spewing out of these geysers in the ocean floor contains a number of chemical compounds that have the potential to be used in drug discovery, and what’s more, the environment is inhabited by a number of organisms that contain unique molecules, representing a completely unexplored spectrum of scientific research that may play a role in future drug discovery initiatives.