On Sat, 09 Jun 2012 01:37:03 -0400, Davoud wrote:

Some people think that it is possible that microscopic life--bacteria,
in particular--living deep underground could survive the Sun's
red-giant phase. With the atmosphere and all of the surface water
boiled off, however, the chances of a new evolutionary cycle leading to
the repopulation of the Earth by large animals or plants seems very
unlikely.

Bacteria certainly does seem resilient. Given the recent discoveries
of bacteria living many kilometers below the surface, its survival
during the Sun's red giant phase seems very possible. Of course, any
life deep enough to survive will also be unaffected by even nearby
supernovas.