EXTREME LIFE form

[ANNE V. GILBERT]

Ron:

> I came across the phrase EXTREME LIFE in today's DURHAM MORNING HERALD
(1/17/
> 02, pA7/1&3); not sure from the context if it is a nonce form, a mistake,
or
> some established form that I knew nothing about before:
>
> <<Scientists ... have discovered a unique community of microbes that
thrive
> without sunlight or oxygen. ... In the light of the findings, researchers
> said the question should no longer be whether extreme life exists on Mars
and
> elsewhere.>>

I"ve never seen "extreme" used in this sense, for a biological life form,
but "extreme" used as a kind of substitute for "ultimate" or "dangerous" or
"risky" has been around for some years now(think of the phrase "extreme
sports").
Anne g