Meet the Tiny Amoeba That Loves the Heat!
A younger-reader version of Meet the “Fire Amoeba” That Just Broke a Record for Complex Life.
Scientists found a tiny living thing that can survive temperatures hot enough to seriously hurt most other life.
It is called Incendiamoeba cascadensis, but scientists also call it the fire amoeba.
This amoeba is only one cell big, but that cell is surprisingly tough. It can grow and divide at around 145°F, which is hotter than scientists thought this kind of complex cell could handle.
Even when temperatures climbed higher, the little amoeba could still move around. After being exposed to 158°F for five minutes, it was able to recover once things cooled down again.
Scientists study creatures like the fire amoeba because they help us understand just how tough life can be. Learning about organisms that survive extreme places on Earth may even help scientists think about where life could exist on other planets someday.
Sometimes the smallest discoveries can change the biggest ideas.
If you could discover a new microscopic creature, what would you name it?
Color the Fire Amoeba
A Goodwire Kids coloring page featuring a cheerful fire amoeba in a geothermal hot spring, designed with clean closed line art for printing and online tap-to-fill coloring.
