This familiar quotation was first penned in 1534 by Francois Rabelais, a learned French monk, physician, and satirist, and it probably dates back even further as a Latin proverb. In an age before microscopes and other technologies that have since enabled scientists to explore every corner of the Earth, Rabelais couldn't have known just how right he was.
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Penguins are one of the inhabitants of this extreme environment. |
Life has evolved to fill every nook and cranny of our planet, from the ice and frigid waters of the polar regions to the boiling-hot, high-pressure, and caustic environment around deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Scientists who have found ways to explore these environments have been continually amazed by the diversity and abundance of life where it was previously believed no life could exist.
Scientific wonder soon leads to the next question: how? What adaptations make it possible for these creatures to survive? Extremophiles — organisms that thrive in extreme conditions — have much to teach us. Scientists are looking at these organisms for everything from clues to the origins of life on Earth to new enzymes that can detoxify heavy metals or speed up chemical reactions in cool temperatures.
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Today, scientists are making exciting discoveries about the ocean floor, thanks to deep-sea submersibles such as Alvin. Operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, this three-person sub made its first dive in 1964. Since then, Alvin has made more than 4,000 dives to an average depth of 2,079 meters (6,820 ft).
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Of course, this kind of research can turn into quite an adventure. Going to work may mean making a trip to the ocean floor in a submersible or diving below a sheet of ice. Craig Cary and Adam Marsh are two scientists at the University of Delaware who have "gone to extremes" to satisfy their curiosity. Follow the links below to cool Web sites they have developed to show you more about their research.
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Exploring the Deep Frontier: Extreme Expedition
Join chief scientist Dr. Craig Cary, from the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies, and an international team of scientists, in their quest to learn more about the heat-hardy Pompeii worm and the intriguing "fleece" of bacteria living right on the worm's back. Find out how tools from the Human Genome Project are being used to learn more about deep-sea mysteries!
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Going to Extremes
