What is an extremophile? Give an example.

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An extremophile is an organism that can survive and thrive in extreme environments that are normally hostile to life forms, such as extreme heat, cold, pressure, radiation, acidity, and alkalinity. An example of an extremophile is the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, which can survive extreme levels of radiation that are lethal to most living things. It has been found in highly irradiated environments such as nuclear waste dumps and is considered one of the toughest organisms known to science.