Tag Archives: extremophiles

Extremophiles on Earth

Posted on April 29, 2014 by dhbrett

Extremophiles are life forms that can tolerate extreme conditions. They are found in exotic environments all over Earth, such as deep sea vents, the upper atmosphere, and boiling hot geysers, such as those in Yellowstone National Park. Many astrobiologists believe that extremophiles represent the most likely type of life to exist on other planets. In … Continue reading Extremophiles on Earth → Continue reading →

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Tardigrades

Posted on April 29, 2014 by karapetros

This video discusses what the toughest animal on Earth is. It as interesting to me that while I imagined a big animal like a lion, they determined that the toughest animal is a tardigrade, a type of extremophile. These animals are able to withstand the greatest temperatures and pressures on Earth as well as the … Continue reading Tardigrades → Continue reading →

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Life from Earth, elsewhere

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Drew Hamilton

In class, we have discussed the possibility that life on Earth did not originate on Earth, but came to Earth on an asteroid or other impactor. But another idea is that the inverse is true: Later impacts on Earth sent life to other locations in the Solar System. Recent simulations suggest that some of the… Continue reading →

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Extremophiles

Posted on April 27, 2014 by efb28

The presence of extremophiles makes the possibility of life off Earth way more likely. In our solar system alone, there are many places humans could not live but extremophiles could. Even on Venus it is possible that extremophiles could live in the upper atmosphere (though that’s about it for Venus). Unfortunately, finding life in the […] Continue reading →

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My Changing Perspective of the Universe

Posted on April 27, 2014 by joshkphilips

Image Source Prior to my enrollment in this class, I rarely thought about the Universe around me. Furthermore, I never truly comprehended the vastness of the Universe. In fact, although I do have a better understanding about the immense size of the cosmos, I feel as though I still cannot fathom the true size of […] Continue reading →

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Extremophiles

Posted on April 27, 2014 by mariah0407

The idea that there is life that does not live and survive the way we do is very interesting.  I think humans have come up with an idea of what they are looking for when defining “life.” Yet, these extremophiles prove many of these ideas wrong.  They live in places humans never could survive but […] Continue reading →

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Thermococcus gammatolerans: The “hottest” thing alive

Posted on April 26, 2014 by haydenwalling

This rare microbe is the most radiation resistant organism known to man. Discovered in 2003 living inside of a hydrothermal vent at the bottom of the pacific ocean off the coast of California, this little guy is capable of withstanding over 30,000 grays (a Gray is the absorption of one joule of such energy by […] Continue reading →

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Extremophiles Aiding the Search For Extraterrestrial Life

Posted on April 26, 2014 by joshkphilips

Image Source About six months ago, scientists retrieved samples of water that are nearly two billion years old from the depths of a mine in Timmins, Ontario. They are now attempting to determine whether or not any life exists within the liquid. If in fact lifeforms are present within the water, this would be yet […] Continue reading →

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Lovers of the Extreme

Posted on April 25, 2014 by paanvaannd

<Image from this post from here> The discovery of extremophiles within the last few decades has expanded the amount of worlds viable for some sort of life, and has greatly increased the chance of life being found elsewhere within our galaxy, let alone our own solar system.  Extremophiles are microorganisms on Earth that live, and … Continue reading Lovers of the Extreme → Continue reading →

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Extremophiles Under the Sea and in Space

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert

Life can be found everywhere on Earth, even in extreme environments.  The organisms that live here are called extremophiles and rely on things other than oxygen for survival.  Hydrothermal events are an example of extreme environments in which extremophiles have been found.  At the bottom of the ocean, temperatures and pressures are so high that […] Continue reading →

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