Get below 5 ℃, and enzymes, the biological catalysts that facilitate all of life's chemistry, work painfully slowly. Below freezing, matters get even worse. Ice crystals start to form in and around cells, sucking water out of them and cutting their membranes and contents to shreds. Nevertheless, more than 80 per cent of the habitats on Earth are colder than 5 ℃. And there is no shortage of species that can cope with the chill.
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