A BACTERIUM has broken the record for the highest temperature at which life can exist. The bug, called Strain 121, can replicate at a temperature of 121 掳C, which is 8 掳C hotter than the previous record holder.
Microbiologists Derek Lovley and Kazem Kashefi at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst found the bacterium growing near a hydrothermal vent on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Strain 121 survived for 2 hours at 130 掳C in the lab, but could not replicate (Science, vol 301, p 934). The researchers now plan to investigate the bug鈥檚 biochemistry to see how it withstands the heat.