Essay BIO 101 Module 1 Discussion Life’s Extreme Environments TUI
BIO 101 Module 1 Discussion Life’s Extreme Environments TUI
Discussion: Life’s Extreme Environments
Discussion Topic
Everything we know about life comes from studying our own planet. Recent discoveries about life forms in extreme environments have renewed scientists’ interest in looking for life elsewhere.
Organisms that thrive in a wide variety of harsh conditions –called extremophiles—are broadening scientists’ understanding of the diverse environmental conditions life can withstand. Scientists have had to modify their theories and expand their view of what types of environments are habitable based on the new information presented by the existence of extremophiles.
Watch the following 1.5 minute NOVA video on extremophiles. Complete your initial post by answering the questions below:
Life’s Extreme Environments
- What is an extremophile?
- What kinds of extreme environments can life thrive in?
- Explain why the study of extreme environments on Earth is important to the search for life on other planets. Do you think this could change the way scientists view our understanding of life? Why or why not?