Magical Microbes Mop The Gulf

I'd have a lot more confidence in this microbe's existence if it wasn't so damned convenient for everyone to think it's there. It MAY be there, of course, but we know almost nothing about it. It's busily working everywhere, but it's slow enough in its action so to avoid depleting the oxygen content of the water and thus avoid killing fish. How CONVENIENT!

Still, what happens to the toxic compounds within the oil? The microbes won't want to eat those. Where do the toxics go? What do they do?:

Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf following the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

And the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers led by Terry Hazen at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., reported Tuesday in the online journal Sciencexpress.

"Our findings, which provide the first data ever on microbial activity from a deepwater dispersed oil plume, suggest" a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep-sea, Hazen said in a statement.