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Amoeba tops heat tolerance record

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Researchers from Syracuse University discovered Incendiamoeba cascadensis in geothermal streams at Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, which thrived at 63°C, breaking the heat-tolerance record for complex life.

Reposted by Simon Roux

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hbrappap.bsky.social
Our description of fire amoeba, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, is now online at Cell! Thanks @oliverio.bsky.social and amazing team for questioning the limits of eukaryotes! 🔥

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes
The amoeba Incendiamoeba cascadensis demonstrates that eukaryotic life can withstand temperatures beyond what was thought possible and sheds light on molecular strategies for survival in extreme heat.
www.cell.com
September 22, 2026 at 6:40 PM
ABC
Discovery of the 'fire amoeba', the only known complex life form that thrives at temperatures above 60°C

An American team of researchers from Syracuse University (USA) has discovered in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park a new species of amoeba capable of surviving temperatures that would kill any other known complex life form. The tiny organism can feed and reproduce in hot springs up to 63 °C and is able to withstand 70 °C by changing shape and forming an external protective layer. Not surprisingly, they have named it the 'fire amoeba'. 'This finding expands the limits of what we believed possible, which is incredibly exciting,' says Angela Oliverio, the study's lead author, in the study published this Tuesday in the journal Cell. The record for the organism growing at the highest temperature belongs to Methanopyrus kandleri, a relatively simple archaeon that lives at 122 °C around hydrothermal vents in the depths of the oceans. For decades, researchers have considered 60 °C the upper limit for eukaryotes, which are organisms with complex cells, such as animals, plants,

Discovery of the 'fire amoeba', the only known complex life form that thrives at temperatures above 60°C
Reposts 0 6h
New York Times
At 145 Degrees, This Amoeba Manages to Keep Its Cool

Found in volcanic streams in California, the newfound organism has the highest heat tolerance of any complex life on Earth.

Reposts 0 6h
Science News
Meet the ‘fire amoeba,’ a record-breaking survivor of extreme heat

Incendiamoeba cascadensis can replicate at 145° F, breaking the heat tolerance record for eukaryotes, a domain of life that includes plants and animals.

Meet the ‘fire amoeba,’ a record-breaking survivor of extreme heat
Reposts 0 6h
New Scientist
Fire amoeba breaks heat tolerance record for complex life

An amoeba living in a Californian hot spring is thriving above 60°C, a threshold previously thought deadly to complex life

Fire amoeba breaks heat tolerance record for complex life
Reposts 0 6h
El Pais
Living and feeding at 63 degrees: the 'fire amoeba' breaks the record for the temperature at which complex life thrives

The discovery of this new species in hot springs at a California volcanic park (USA) broadens the limits of where life can be found on Earth and elsewhere

Living and feeding at 63 degrees: the 'fire amoeba' breaks the record for the temperature at which complex life thrives
Reposts 0 6h
NRC
This Californian amoeba is thriving at a record temperature of 63 degrees Celsius

There has never been a complex single-celled organism that could withstand temperatures this high.

This Californian amoeba is thriving at a record temperature of 63 degrees Celsius
Reposts 0 6h
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