From 1965 through 1975, I conducted an extensive field and laboratory research project on thermophilic microorganisms. The field work was based primarily in Yellowstone National Park, using a field laboratory we set up in the city of W. Yellowstone, Montana. The laboratory work was carried out from 1965 through 1971 at Indiana University, Bloomington, and subsequently at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Although this research project began small, it quickly ramified in a wide variety of directions. The major thrust was an attempt to understand the ecology and evolutionary relationships of thermophilic microorganisms, but research also was done on biochemical, physiologic, and taxonomic aspects of thermophiles. Four new genera of thermophilic microorganisms have been discovered during the course of this 10-year period, three in my laboratory. In addition, a large amount of new information has been obtained on some thermophilic microorganisms that previously had been known. In later years, a considerable amount of work was done on Yellowstone algal bacterial mats as models for Precambrian stromatolites. In the broadest sense, the work could be considered geomicrobiological, or biogeochemi cal, and despite the extensive laboratory research carried out, the work was always firmly rooted in an attempt to understand thermophilic microorga nisms in their natural environments. Indeed, one of the prime motivations for initiating this work was a view that extreme environments would provide useful models for studying the ecology of microorganisms. As a result of this 10-year research project, I published over 100 papers.

A fascinating look at Yellowstone's thermal areas and the microorganisms which live there, including those now used in the biotechology industry.

Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.

We might think of them as living on the very edge of existence. Referred to as extremophiles, these microorganisms exhibit the most radical capacity for adaptation in those harsh environments that are just barely conducive to the existence of cellular life. Unlocking the mechanisms and understanding the evolutionary development that allows these si

Thermophilic Bacteria is a comprehensive volume that describes all major bacterial groups that can grow above 60-65°C (excluding the Archaea). Over 60 different species of aerobic and anaerobic thermophilic bacteria are covered. Isolation, growth methods, characterization and identification, ecology, metabolism, and enzymology of thermophilic bacteria are examined in detail, and an extensive compilation of recent biotechnological applications and the properties of many thermostable enzymes are also included. Major topics discussed in the book include a general review on thermophilic bacteria and archaea; heterotropic bacilli; the genus Thermus; new and rare genera of aerobic heterophophs, such as Saccharococcus, Rhodothermus, and Scotohermus; aerobic chemolithoautotrophic thermophilic bacteria; obligately anaerobic thermophilic bacteria; and hyperthermophilic Thermotogales and thermophilic phototrophs. Extensive bibliographies are also provided for each chapter. The vast amount of information packed into this one volume makes it essential for all microbiologists, biochemists, molecular biologists, and students interested in the expanding field of thermophilicity. Biotechnologists will find the book useful as a source of information on thermophiles or thermostable enzymes of possible industrial use.

A diverse account of how life exists in extreme environments and these systems' susceptibility and resilience to climate change.