Questions tagged [extremophiles]

An organism which thrives in extreme chemical or physical conditions which would be harmful to most life forms.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
0 answers
13 views

Relation of pH and amino acids in microtitr assay

I am testing a Biolog plate (https://www.biolog.com/products/metabolic-characterization-microplates/) in which the wells test for the optimum pH at which my bacterium grows. Aside from having a range ...
Franco Grosso's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
31 views

Tardigrade scaling and survival

Tardigrades have attracted the attention of researchers with their amazing endurance. They withstand enormous temperatures, high doses of ionizing radiation, resistant to harsh atmospheric factors and ...
dtn's user avatar
  • 133
7 votes
1 answer
472 views

What is the deepest living underground organism?

A quick search reveals Halicephalobus mephisto which was detected in ore recovered from deep rock fracture water in several gold mines in South Africa [...] 3.6 km (2.2 mi) under the surface of the ...
2080's user avatar
  • 171
15 votes
0 answers
248 views

Is it known how some heat-resistance Bacillus spores repair their DNA after having been heated to 420 °C? (but not much higher)

Background Discussions below several recent posts in Space SE (links below) indicate that bacterial spores are a serious problem when considering how to prevent a future spacecraft mission to ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 5,418
2 votes
1 answer
130 views

Could biofilms float and survive in the sulfuric acid clouds of Venus?

The atmosphere of Venus is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide, 3.5% nitrogen, and traces of other gases, most notably sulfur dioxide. The main cloud deck is located in the 48-70 km altitude range and is ...
Cornelis's user avatar
  • 145
1 vote
0 answers
147 views

How much pressure can human withstand if inner and outer pressure is balanced?

I know human can't dive too deep because there's pressure difference between inside and outside of the body. But how much pressure can human withstand if human is breathing components that is ...
Jason's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
0 answers
137 views

Extreme or just rare: evolution of complex life in extreme environments [closed]

Many environments are considered "extreme" (boiling hot springs, acidic/basic water, etc) and those tend to be dominated by Archaea instead of the "usual" mixture of bacteria along with complex plants ...
Kevin Kostlan's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
78 views

Can we artificially produce a species that would be able to live on Antarctic ice sheet? [closed]

Can we artificially produce a multicellular species that would be able to live on Antarctic ice sheet? By means of genetic engineering, selection etc. UPDATE There are organisms, called Watermelon ...
Anixx's user avatar
  • 3,006
2 votes
0 answers
612 views

Why are the most heat tollerant organisms prokaryotic?

Prokaryotic organisms are able to grow at far higher temperatures than are eukaryotes. Archaea are known to group, among some mesophiles, the most extremophiles organisms (es. Pyrococcus furiosus), ...
Saul Pierotti's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
82 views

Are polyploidal organisms parasatized by selfish genes? And if not, why not?

Certain prokaryotes are polyploids. For example, Thermus thermophilus has about five copies of its genome (http://jb.asm.org/content/192/20/5499.full). One extreme polyploid, Epulopiscium fishelsoni, ...
Jim Davis's user avatar
  • 113
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can ants survive a plane ride?

I just came back home a few hours ago from the airport and my aunt had peaches in her car full of ants. This made me wonder if the ants had joined us from the plane? This leads to the question can ...
user24898's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
51 views

Is it possible and how could it possible for plant to survive in naked space

I heard that there are fungi could survive on space station in the naked space. I want to know if any plant could be able to do the same How many limitation of plant differ from fungi And could it ...
Thaina's user avatar
  • 459
8 votes
2 answers
5k views

Can tardigrades survive being eaten?

Compared to a tardigrade, the cockroach seems fragile. But can tardigrades survive the acidic environment of being eaten by most animals?
alan2here's user avatar
  • 295
6 votes
2 answers
811 views

How to obtain a tardigrade?

The tardigrade is often mentioned as one of the most "alien" lifeforms on Earth. This video speaks for itself: (from this article) I have long wanted to see a tardigrade with my own eyes. I have a ...
user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
276 views

How can (or did) Deinococcus radiodurans continue to evolve after developing resistance to mutation?

Deinococcus radiodurans has a remarkable ability to resist damage to its DNA due to radiation, dehydration or (to my knowledge) any other source. It keeps multiple copies of its genome and has a ...
Robert Rounthwaite's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

How close to Earth's core can organisms live?

We don't to know much about organisms living deep below the Earth's crust. Recently a team led by S. Giovanni discovered some microbes 300 m below the ocean floor. The microbes were found to be a ...
math_lover's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
630 views

What's the biggest obligate anaerobic organism discovered till now?

Beside many anaerobic single cell organisms, there are some annelid worms that are obligate anaerobic at least in their early development stages. Probably, due to low concentration levels in nature, ...
symbiotech's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is infrared photosynthesis possible?

The post-apocalyptic science fiction novel Dark Universe by Daniel F. Galouye has some plants living inside bunkers that use infrared light for photosynthesis. There are speculations that ...
symbiotech's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
819 views

Is it possible to have life in vacuum?

I just got struck by curiosity now: Intuition says no, but I've never had confirmation of it.
Red Banana's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
211 views

Which are the most extreme artificial environments that lifeforms/ecosystems have adapted to?

I have heard of 'extremophiles', lifeforms that naturally thrive in all sorts of extreme environments. Is there any evidence to suggest that lifeforms are adapting to the extreme environments (such ...
user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
271 views

Can the body of any organism on Earth live without impairment both in vacuum, and within Earth's atmosphere?

I know from reading that a human in vacuum needs a space-suit to survive. Is the body of any organism on Earth capable of living equally in vacuum, and on/below Earth's surface within the atmosphere?...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 3,863
6 votes
1 answer
3k views

What's the opposite of a thermophile?

Thermophiles, heat-loving organisms, have been a popular topic of research for decades due in large part to the utility of their enzymes in various chemical reactions (Taq Pol single-enzymedly made ...
tel's user avatar
  • 3,781
9 votes
3 answers
412 views

Does GFAJ-1 use Adenosine triarsenate as its energy currency?

Regarding the bacteria found in Mono Lake, CA that scientists believe uses or can use arsenic in its DNA backbone where life as we know it uses phosphorus (according to their experiments depriving the ...
mring's user avatar
  • 1,963
11 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is the most heat-tolerant organism?

What is the most heat-tolerant (or heat loving - hyperthermophile) organism so far identified? What adaptations does this organism have in order to endure such high temperatures?
Poshpaws's user avatar
  • 7,292
27 votes
2 answers
881 views

How do biological communities at deep-ocean hydrothermal vents migrate between vents?

Much interest in the astrobiology community has been generated by the discovery of biological communities populating deep-ocean hydrothermal vents (i.e. "black smokers"). (1) These ecosystems rely on ...
Poshpaws's user avatar
  • 7,292