Tardigrades, also commonly known as water bears or moss piglets, are some of the toughest little critters around. If they were to be voted 'most likely' in high school, it would be 'most likely to survive the apocalypse' for sure. They may be tiny, only around 0.05mm to 1.2mm long, but they can withstand mind-boggling conditions. This begs the question, how are you even alive? Let's learn about the small, but mighty, tardigrade together!
These little guys can be found anywhere in the world. Depending on the species (there are around 1,100 different ones!), they prefer to live in the sediment at the bottom of a body of water or on moist pieces of moss. While they can survive almost anywhere, they do require a thin layer of water to be around their body to prevent them from drying out. While most invertebrates of a similar size to tardigrades tend to dart around quickly, tardigrades move around slowly on their short, stubby legs. I would argue that they are the most adorable invertebrates around.
Now, let's discuss all the crazy conditions tardigrades have been found, or put in, by scientists. Research has shown that tardigrades can survive a vast range of temperatures; from as cold as negative 328 degrees Fahrenheit to as hot as 300 degrees Fahrenheit or more! They have been shown to be able to survive for 30 years without food or water. They can even survive in the vacuum of space without any protection, pressures up to six times that of the deepest part of the ocean, and exposure to radiation.
How are these little guys so resilient? Well, there are a couple of things that help them avoid seemingly inevitable death. First of all, they can go into a state called cryptobiosis. While in cryptobiosis they will squeeze out all of the water from their little bodies, pull in their legs and heads, roll up into a little ball, and become dormant. Secondly, they have a protein called Dspu, short for damage suppressor, that helps protect their DNA from being damaged. Now, once conditions become more favorable, they leave their dormant state and become active again.
Thanks for learning with me! Are you as mind blown about how resilient those little tardigrades are as I am? It’s hard to wrap my mind around some of the conditions they can survive in. Such cool little critters! What else do you want to know about tardigrades? Leave your questions below!
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