Under normal atmospheric pressure at Earth’s surface, water molecules form a tetrahedral network stabilized by hydrogen bonds between adjacent molecules. Extreme high pressure, such as can be found in deep ocean waters, destabilizes these bonds and compresses water’s structure, allowing water molecules within organisms to permeate proteins and impede crucial biological functions; yet deep-sea organisms known as piezophiles have adapted to extreme pressure. Studies have found a positive correlation between the depths that various piezophiles inhabit and concentrations of a compound called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in their muscle tissues, which has led a team of researchers to hypothesize that TMAO reduces water’s compressibility.

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