Life at the Limits - Organisms in Extreme Environments

FROM THE PUBLISHER
We are fascinated by the seemingly impossible places in which organisms can live. There are frogs that freeze solid, worms that dry out and bacteria that survive temperatures of over 100[degree]C. These organisms have an extreme biology, which involves many aspects of their physiology, ecology and evolution. In this account, the reader is taken on a tour of extreme environments, and shown the remarkable abilities of organisms to survive a range of extreme conditions, such as high and low temperatures and desiccation. This book considers how organisms survive major stresses, and what extreme organisms can tell us about the origin of life and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life.