The emergent properties of water contribute to the suitability of the environment for life. Until fairly recently, scientists assumed that other physical requirements for life included a moderate range of temperature, pH, atmospheric pressure and salinity as well as low levels of toxic chemicals. That view has changed with the discovery of organisms known as extremophiles, which have been found flourishing in hot, acidic sulfur springs, around hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean, in soils with high levels of toxic metals, and even in the reactors at Chernobyl! Why would astrobiologists be interested in studying extremophiles

The dna in a cell’s nucleus encodes proteins that are eventually targeted to every membrane and compartment in the cell, as well as proteins that are targeted for secretion from the cell. for example, consider these two proteins: phosphofructokinase (pfk) is an enzyme that functions in the cytoplasm during glycolysis. insulin, a protein that regulates blood sugar levels, is secreted from specialized pancreatic cells. assume that you can track the cellular locations of these two proteins from the time that translation is complete until the proteins reach their final destinations. for each protein, identify its targeting pathway: the sequence of cellular locations in which the protein is found from when translation is complete until it reaches its final (functional) destination. (note that if an organelle is listed in a pathway, the location implied is inside the organelle, not in the membrane that surrounds the organelle.)