extremophile

extremophile
(ik.STREEM.uh.fyl)
n.
An organism whose natural habitat is an extreme environment.
Example Citation:
Those who think there could be life elsewhere in the solar system talk of the possibility of bacteria buried in the Martian icecaps, perhaps, or under the icy crusts of Jupiter's moons Europa or Callisto. One problem with such theories is that these are extremely hostile environments with pressures much higher than normal. Similar high-pressure zones on Earth — under the Antarctic ice, for instance — are suitable only for specially adapted organisms known as extremophiles.
— Henry Fountain, "Observatory," The New York Times, February 26, 2002
Earliest Citation:
The most extreme conditions tolerated by extremophiles are found one mile down, on the ocean floor, at cracks in the Earth's crust called hydrothermal vents. ... Organisms there must live without any light, at pressures 600 times greater than atmospheric pressure and tolerate temperatures up to 110 degrees Celsius.
— "Micro-organism feast for researchers," The Daily Telegraph, September 12, 1989
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New words. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Extremophile — Extrêmophile Les thermophiles, sont un type d organismes extremophiles se développant dans les sources chaudes comme le Grand Prismatic Spring, au Parc national de Yellowstone Un organisme est dit extrêmophile lorsque ses conditions de vie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Extrémophile — Extrêmophile Les thermophiles, sont un type d organismes extremophiles se développant dans les sources chaudes comme le Grand Prismatic Spring, au Parc national de Yellowstone Un organisme est dit extrêmophile lorsque ses conditions de vie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Extremophile — Als extremophil werden Organismen bezeichnet, die sich extremen Umweltbedingungen angepasst haben, die im Allgemeinen als lebensfeindlich betrachtet werden. Dabei handelt es sich meist um einzellige Mikroorganismen. Die Definition ‚extrem‘ ist… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Extremophile — An extremophile is an organism that thrives in and may even require physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to the majority of life on Earth.Most known extremophiles are microbes. The domain Archaea contains renowned… …   Wikipedia

  • Extrêmophile — Les thermophiles, sont un type d organismes extrêmophiles se développant dans les sources chaudes comme le Grand Prismatic Spring, au Parc national de Yellowstone …   Wikipédia en Français

  • extremophile bacteria. — ex|tre|mo|phile «ehk stree muh fyl», noun an organism which lives in very harsh environmental conditions. adjective –extremophile bacteria …   Useful english dictionary

  • extremophile — noun Date: 1989 an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (as in a hot spring or ice cap) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • extremophile — An organism that requires an extreme enviroment in which to flourish examples are thermophiles and halophiles …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • extremophile — noun An organism that lives under extreme conditions of temperature, salinity etc; commercially important as a source of enzymes that operate under similar conditions …   Wiktionary

  • extremophile — n. organism (usually single celled) whose natural surroundings are in extreme environmental conditions (as in hot springs, ice cap, extreme temperatures or pressure) …   English contemporary dictionary

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