New California amoeba sets heat record for complex life, survives 158F

In the steaming pools of California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, life has found a way to thrive where most cells would begin to fall apart. Hidden in geothermal waters, a newly identified amoeba is pushing the known limits of how much heat complex life can tolerate, challenging long-held assumptions about the survival of cells with intricate internal structures, states an online report by NASA.The organism, named Incendiamoeba cascadensis and informally known as the fire amoeba, can reproduce at temperatures reaching 145°F (63°C), states the NASA website. It remains active at 147°F (64°C), moving through the scorching water in search of food. Researchers also found that it can recover after being exposed to 158°F (70°C) for five minutes. The findings, published in Cell, establish a new upper temperature record for known eukaryotes.A record for complex cellsAccording to NASA, the discovery is particularly striking because I.