Life at 500F. How about - 100?

This actually will bring anyone closer to believing in the higher being, other wise known as the creator of life.

It would open the door to understand the evolution of such creaturs which still exist on this planet. The beep oceans at the mouth of the core flows the thermal vents of our planet with unkown life forms. Many years of evolution witing to be studied and explored. Cost too much for any one government to afford the research and time required to sustain a logical answer. Best be left alone and just be glad we live in more hospitable environments. 8>)

Maximo

The freezing one is easy! Thermal insulation such as fir and fat, look at the polar bear, lives in a very cold hostile environment......for a human! Also,I think some fish or sea mammals have a natural antifreeze running through there veins which allows them to function at very low temperatures! The hot part has still got me thinking!......

There was a study on the probability of ETs which took into account lots of different factors (can't remember any exact figures but..) and they said that there was a very high chance that they do exist! I will see if I can dig it out!

Actually this one that has me thinking backwards too.

As for the low temp I was thinking of the smaller organisms microbial and such that have no insulation. But the antifreeze thing is interesting.

Score another point for Intelligent Design! Go team Go!!!

cr3

Anti-freeze; lol, actually these northern animals have an oil with in their skin and layers of fat that works as a tempered heat exchanger for their body. Almost like glyserol we use in HVAC chillers.

Kind of cool how their total design was concepted by one so smart.

Glycerol is widely used as a solvent; as a sweetener; in the manufacture of dynamite, cosmetics, liquid soaps, candy, liqueurs, inks, and lubricants; to keep fabrics pliable; as a component of antifreeze mixtures; as a source of nutrients for fermentation cultures in the production of antibiotics; and in medicine.

Taken from here.

cr3

The recently discovered bacteria restorable to life after 100,000 years of being frozen in glaciers, at temperatures reaching -60 C, must have evolved to have a soft freeze and a cell structure unharmed by freezing. The temperate latitude bugs freeze to -40 C or F regularly and recover in the spring. Some fish, like lung fish, can bury themselves in mud, and survive lower temperatures.

All of the high temp life is living under much greater pressure, so that even the 500 C is well below the boiling point. We'd be cooked like a fried egg with our proteins losing all functionality, , totally denatured, but their's doesn't. Would theirs work at 40 C?

Also, there are about 15 differing ice crystallizations, is there some additional one that is non-expansive, that wouldn't rupture the cells, that can be induced by the low-temp bacteria?

Living with insulation and/or fur, doesn't count when the internal body temp is still 35 C. Living when your internal temp reaches -40 C is the real trick. Normal cells have a "gel" inside that moves around to move them. Possibly individual ice particles suspended in a high sugar/protein/glycerin/salt/whatever else would allow some metabolism and movement to occur.

Just restoring life after warming after a million years of frozen state is unreal. And not spores or eggs, but the original once frozen cells themselves.

RichH

The story about the bacteriologically contaminated equipment returned from the surface of the Moon springs to mind (while the details are missing); the bacteria were still viable after an extended period in a vacuum and exposure to an unshielded solar furnace.

The other one is those strange life forms located near subsea volcanic vents. No light, water temperatures into the hundreds°C, corrosive conditions and life flourishes?

'Star Trek' has nothing on those...

It would seem that smaller life forms can survive better in harsh conditions such as bacteria and viruses (If you choose to include them in that category). Ultimately they simply behave like chemicals. Certain proteins immersed in viscous solutions can survive at extremely high and low temperatures.

Looking at larger forms of life gets more tricky. At this stage it is not simply the overall chemical make-up but much more. Bacteria mainy survive due to the rigidity of their cell walls whereas fish and other animals resort to having layers and bag fulls of antifreeze (in case of low temperatures).

High temperatures are worse when it comes to larger animals. You will find fewer large animals in extreme hot conditions than cold ones. The principle of loosing body heat remains mostly the same:- sweating, panting, thin hanging skin, paper thin ears etc.

I guess the main aim is to survive and reproduce at such a temprature so.....

If an organism evolves such that it can protect its DNA from the UV rays as well as temperatures that can cause this molecule and other proteinacious enzymes to denature, as well as develop a suitable outer covering, it may be possible.

Humans have developed space suits right?

We may simply have to evolve to be able to grow it around us!

Try Pitsea Market on an icy December evening! C'mon, I'll show you! <cough>