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New Amoeba Species Thrives in Extreme Heat
Confirmed
In Short: The discovery was made in the heated waters of California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, where the amoeba was observed thriving in conditions previously thought too extreme for complex life.
NASA-supported scientists have discovered a new species of amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which can reproduce at an astonishing 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius) and remain active up to 147 degrees Fahrenheit (64 degrees Celsius).
This finding sets a new record for the upper temperature limit for all known eukaryotes, surpassing the previous limit of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) set by a few species of fungi and red algae.
Incendiamoeba cascadensis, also known as the fire amoeba, stops reproducing above 145 degrees Fahrenheit but continues to move around to search for food.
Scientists found many genes that help the amoeba stabilize its DNA and protect it from breaking down under such extreme temperatures.
This discovery suggests that there may be other thermophilic amoebas related to Incendiamoeba cascadensis living in various locations around the globe, waiting to be discovered.
The identification of this new species comes at a time when global temperatures are reaching unprecedented levels, with August tying the record for the world’s hottest month since records began.
Extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and droughts have intensified worldwide, affecting regions from Nepal and China’s Tibet to Greece and Belgium.
In Europe, extreme temperatures are becoming a matter of life and death, with France and parts of the UK and Spain struggling with record-breaking heat and power grid challenges.
School districts are advised to create heat response plans to mitigate the impact of heat waves on children’s ability to learn, as heat waves are eroding kids’ cognitive abilities.
The extreme heat also extended to the oceans, with sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions tying the record high for any month.
What this adds
The new discovery of Incendiamoeba cascadensis builds on previous WarpBeat reporting on heat-loving amoebas, confirming the upper temperature limit for eukaryotes at 63 degrees Celsius.
Background
Microbiologists have identified a new species of heat-loving amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which can divide at 63 degrees Celsius (145 degrees Fahrenheit) and remain motile up to 64 degrees Celsius (147 degrees Fahrenheit).
What's confirmed
- NASA-supported scientists have discovered a new species of amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which can reproduce at an astonishing 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius) and remain active up to 147 degrees Fahrenheit (64 degrees Celsius).
- This finding sets a new record for the upper temperature limit for all known eukaryotes, surpassing the previous limit of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) set by a few species of fungi and red algae.
- Incendiamoeba cascadensis, also known as the fire amoeba, stops reproducing above 145 degrees Fahrenheit but continues to move around to search for food.
- Scientists found many genes that help the amoeba stabilize its DNA and protect it from breaking down under such extreme temperatures.
- This discovery suggests that there may be other thermophilic amoebas related to Incendiamoeba cascadensis living in various locations around the globe, waiting to be discovered.
- The identification of this new species comes at a time when global temperatures are reaching unprecedented levels, with August tying the record for the world’s hottest month since records began.
- Extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and droughts have intensified worldwide, affecting regions from Nepal and China’s Tibet to Greece and Belgium.
- In Europe, extreme temperatures are becoming a matter of life and death, with France and parts of the UK and Spain struggling with record-breaking heat and power grid challenges.
- School districts are advised to create heat response plans to mitigate the impact of heat waves on children’s ability to learn, as heat waves are eroding kids’ cognitive abilities.
- The extreme heat also extended to the oceans, with sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions tying the record high for any month.
What's still developing
- The Leopardus tigrinus species complex is a group of small, spotted felines found across Central and South America and known variously as tiger cats, little spotted cats, or tigrinas.
- Among the findings was a previously unknown species, named Leopardus tilcayo, discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forests.
- The researchers also identified a new subspecies from Peru’s Yungas region, Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo.
- Scientists have demonstrated that the South American tiger cat complex Leopardus tigrinus consists of five genetically distinct species, including one entirely new to science.
- They sequenced DNA from eight historical museum specimens, including skull fragments from Guyana that provided the first-ever genetic data from the species’ original type locality in the Guiana Shield, a population that had never before been molecularly sampled.
- Phylogenomics and museomics reveal five distinct species of tiger cats in South America.
- “For thousands of people across Europe, extreme temperatures, without action, can quickly become a matter of life and death,” Mary Friel, the IFRC’s senior climate policy officer, told a press conference in Geneva.
- “It’s drawing warm air up from North Africa, from the Sahara, and that’s why we have this really intense heat. It’s very slow moving, and it means there’s kind of no wind, no breeze for respite,” Clair Barnes, a research associate in extreme weather and climate at Imperial College in London, told Reuters.
- The extreme heat and drought produced grapes with exceptionally higher sugar levels.
- Hear the full conversation with KNPR's Paul Boger here. 🌡️ A new report from the American Psychological Association says heat waves are quietly eroding kids’ ability to learn — and schools should plan for it the way they plan for snow days, according to reporting by the Mountain West News Bureau's Jenny Kinsey.
- Barnes says school districts should create heat response plans if they don’t have one in place already. ✈️ The Labor Day weekend is always a busy time at Harry Reid International Airport, and officials are offering some tips to make travel easier.
- A total fire ban was in place for the greater Sydney region, where extreme fire danger was forecast.