In 2014, volunteers and scientists donned Hazmat suits to sample the black mayonnaise from the canal, extracting DNA which was sequenced at the Weill-Cornell Medical College. Ellen Jorgensen, executive director of the startup Genspace, reported that the group failed to identify half of the DNA. They found "42 kinds of bacteria, two viruses, and five life forms from the domain Archaea," many uniquely adapted to the extreme environment of the Gowanus Canal. Methylococcaceae, a family of microbes found in the Fourth Street Basin, consume methane. Desulfobacterales take in sulfate and release hydrogen sulfide, contributing to the Gowanus’ characteristic rotten egg smell.