What are extremophiles?
Extremophiles are organisms (life forms), often microbes (bacteria, archaea, algae) that live in habitats where one or more environmental conditions are far beyond the range tolerated by most organisms on Earth. For example, this may include extreme heat (thermophiles), cold (psychrophiles), pH (acidophiles or alkaliphiles), ultraviolet radiation, dryness, salt (halophiles), or toxic chemicals. It also may include wide fluctuations in one or more of these conditions, even if the average condition is not particularly extreme. At the SPMO, we study primarily halophiles.
