“There’s a whole spectrum of exciting discoveries with the vents – it’s not just drug discovery,” Lutz said. Lutz and other deep-sea researchers are interested in forging relationships with pharmaceutical companies who can help to bring their initial research to fruition. The potential implications of future research on the ecosystems of deep-sea hydrothermal vents are huge, and future discoveries by Lutz and his colleagues may improve the issue of drug resistance that is such a concern today.