Hot bod  

Scientists have discovered a microbe that can grow at temperatures as high as 121C - they're calling it Strain 121.

But what fascinates me most about this isn't that it can live at such a high temperature (in any case, microbes living at temperatures in excess of 100C were already known), but that it seems to use iron rather than oxygen for respiration. The Science article speculates on the possible implications:

A combination of geological and microbiological evidence suggests that electron transport to Fe(III) may have been the first form of microbial respiration as life evolved. Geological evidence suggests that microorganisms that use Fe(III) as an electron acceptor are key components of the deep, hot biosphere. Furthermore, the accumulation of Fe(III) in hot sediments around marine hydrothermal vents might have led to Fe(III) reduction being an important process in modern hydrothermal environments.