According to microbiologists Derek Lovley and Kazem Kashefi from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the temperature limit at which life can exist has been scientifically identified at 121oC.
This “organism” is a type of bacteria temporarily named Strain 121 (photo), which was discovered in a hydrothermal vent in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
These experts utilized samples of Strain 121, cultivating them at a temperature of 100oC in the laboratory to simulate the environment in which they thrived. It was observed that when the temperature was increased to determine their survival limits, these organisms continued to grow normally as if nothing unusual was happening.
Subsequently, the organisms were placed in an autoclave – a type of oven commonly used to sterilize medical equipment at 121oC. “Even under those conditions for ten hours, they could endure – stated Professor Derek Lovley – These organisms also survived approximately two hours at 130oC, but they did not reproduce until returned to a lower temperature.”
NGUYEN SINH
