Extracellular vesicles are microscopic bubbles, held together by the same sort of membrane that encases cells. These bubbles are then released by cells into their surroundings. In the ocean, these vesicles are like messengers, carrying genetic information from one cell to another. This sort of genetic exchange is called horizontal gene transfer, but until now, it was assumed that direct contact between cells was the primary mechanism, or at least viruses and other gene transfer agents. But a study led by Susanne Erdmann from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology now shows that extracellular vesicles are also important for gene transfer