Goddammit, Nature is Awesome →

Researchers have discovered a large contingent of silent partners in the Deepwater oil spill cleanup—bacteria. Two samples of a deep-sea oil plume show that a high number of microbes have populated the oily area and are hacking away at the hydrocarbon concentration. The bacteria also seem to be using relatively little oxygen to metabolize parts of the oil, minimizing their own environmental impact.

So nature steps in to help clean up what we made a mess of. Thank you, bacteria. You’re a true pal.