1. What is ExtremeBiology?

2. Is this extreme biology?

3. Or this?

4. Well, actually extreme biology is the study of organisms that live in extreme environments., or places that were never thought to be able to support life. These places might be in the deep ocean, in caves, or even inside a volcano!

5. An extremophile is an organism that lives in an extreme environment. Their name means they LOVE extremes.. In fact, they are so well adapted to life in their environment, they couldn’t live anywhere else.

6. Most extremophiles are microbes.. Microbes are organisms that are so small they can only be seen under a microscope. For example, bacteria are microbes., and some of these are also extremophiles.

7. All extremophiles have made adaptations to their environments.. Adaptations are characteristics that allow an organism to survive. For example, a bacteria that lives in a geyser has had to adapt to temperatures that would normally kill a living thing.

8. A lot can be learned from studying extremophiles. They could be clues to early life on Earth or possible life on other planets. They are used by scientists to search for cures to diseases. They are even used in DNA profiling.

9. There are even some advantages to living in extreme environments. Can you think of any? The main advantage is that “normal” places are crowded. For organisms that can withstand extreme conditions, they have the place all to themselves! Also, they are living in the place that is best suited to their needs.

10. Let’s think about these quotes and try to figure out how they relate to extremophiles: “Scientists know more about the moon than the deep ocean.”

11. “Everything is everywhere; the environment selects” - Laurens G.M. Baas-Becking