BABS - Extremofiles

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Extremofiles

Extremophiles thrive in ice, boiling water, acid, the water core of nuclear reactors, salt crystals, deep subsurface, upper stratosphere, toxic waste, under pressure equivalent to two elephants standing on a 10 cent piece – in practically every environment imaginable!

Most Extremophiles are micro-organisms, and the greatest proportion are Archaea – Archaea are 1 of the 3 domains of life, distinct from Bacteria and Eucarya.

Extremophiles provide unprecedented biotechnological applications ranging from the use of their enzymes in medical, agricultural and chemical industries, to whole cells in bioremediation of radioactive and polluted waste sites.

Extremophiles will probably be the first extraterrestrials we discover.

Life may have evolved from Extremophiles.