There are two explanations for thermophiles being able to survive at such high temperatures whereas mesophiles can not. The most evident explanation is that thermophiles are believed to have cell components that are relatively more stable than the cell components of mesophiles which is why thermophiles are able to live at higher temperatures than mesophiles. "A second school of thought, as represented by the writings of Gaughran (21) and Allen (3), believes that rapid resynthesis of damaged or destroyed cell constituents is the key to the problem of biological stability to heat."