how did they get there indeed....if they were brought down by water currents how did they survive their initial time there? i think that probably they sank there gradually

This discovery is relevant in proving that some organisms are capable of thriving in extreem enviroments, which can support the theory relating to the origin of life, and that such organisms might have existed during the active chemistry period of early earth later evolving into higher organisms.

I agree with Chukwuweike and there is infact another form of life that is also a extremophile and has been found growing on radioactive rods in nuclear power plants. The berry shaped bacteria named Kineococcus shows the ability to break down herbicides, industrial solvents,chlorinated compounds and other toxins, all while growing in a radioactive environment that shrivels anything else living and turns glass brown. The bacteria has adapted to 15 times the dose of radiation it would take to kill a human and makes it a goliath among extremophiles. That makes them a potentially valuable tool in the Energy Department's effort to clean up vast ammounts of nuclear waste.

So as you can see the foundation of science has been shaking quite consistantly and personally i dont see how people are still sceptical of such astounding possibilities. None the less sweet Archaea sounds like an amazing find.
~Taio~