From Carlton College
This website includes basic background information on extremophiles and extreme environments. There are also educational resources for K-12 educators and undergraduate faculty and students.
From the Astrobiology Web
This website includes links to articles on specific extreme environments such as pressure, darkness, dryness, etc.
NOVA
A video clip and background text on cave microbes.
From Trudy Wassenaar
Basic information about extremophiles with links to other relevant sections, including evolution.
NOVA
A classroom activity to explore where microbes do and do not grow.
From NSF, text and video story about studying extremophile bacteria as a key to understanding possible life on other planets.
Astrobiology and life in extreme environments overlap in many areas. Several resources from this site are relevant to evolution of life in extreme environments, particularly in regard to microbial life.
“The study of microbial communities is essential if we are to understand and manage the world around us, and such studies prepare us for the exploration for life on other planets. micro*scope has images of microbes, classification schemes, descriptions of organisms, talks, and other educational resources to improve awareness of the biodiversity of our microbial partners.”
“Research conducted in Yellowstone National Park by astrobiologists from NAI’s Montana State Team is highlighted in the 30-minute film Invisible Yellowstone, produced by MSU’s Thermal Biology Institute and MSU’s Science and Natural History filmmaking program. The film is available on DVD by contacting Daniella Scalice at daniella.m.scalice@nasa.gov.”
Montana State University Thermal Biology Institute
www.tbi.montana.edu
Teacher resources for exploring microbial mats and graphing.
“The program highlights cutting edge field work in the arid Western Australian desert, an acidic river in Spain, high altitude lakes in the Bolivian Andes, and the permafrost within an old gold mine in the Canadian Arctic where astrobiologists are characterizing the unique habitats and survival mechanisms of life on Earth, and laying the groundwork for the search for life on other planets. Please contact Daniella Scalice at NAI if you are interested in using this video in your classroom – daniella.m.scalice@nasa.gov.”