Bio-miners are looking closely at extremophiles, organisms that thrive in adverse environments, for exploitable bio-ideas. The gold rush mentality is endangering the extremophile habitats, though, and may cost humanity the lessons they have to offer us.
Extremophiles comprise principally bacteria, which have the remarkable ability to thrive in conditions that would be hazardous to other lifeforms – extremes of temperature, radiation, salinity, and metal toxicity…
One promising discovery is a glycoprotein which prevents Antarctic fish from freezing…
Other Antarctic discoveries include an extract from green algae for use in cosmetic skin treatment, and anti-tumour properties in a strain of yeast.
(via /.)
