Ultimate Survivors

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Water Bears

When you think of animals that can survive anything, even a nuclear apocalypse, you probably think of cockroaches. However, there is an animal that can survive even greater extremes.

The tardigrade is a microscopic organism that can survive radiation, freezing and boiling temperatures, extreme pressure, and even extreme dehydration.

According to BBC, “Tardigrades were discovered in 1773 by a German pastor named Johann August Ephraim Goeze.” They are invertebrates.

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Tardigrades are also called moss piglets and water bears. They have eight legs, tiny claws, and small chubby bodies.

They live in aqueous environments and feed on plant material. Many water bears are found in the ocean and other bodies of water. They live on land but to thrive they need a little bit of water.

Moss, lichen, and algae are common food sources. Some eat other small organisms. They feed by sucking the juices out of other life forms.

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According to National Geographic, water bears have sharp little spears in their mouths which they use to eat algae and other tiny creatures.

 It’s common to find water bears crawling around on moss. However, water bears have even been found in deserts.

There are over 900 known species of tardigrade. They have been found in the Himalayas, hot springs, and even in Antarctica.

Extremes

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Tardigrades can survive temperatures ranging from near absolute zero to above the boiling point of water. They can survive pressures at the bottom of the ocean and even in vacuums. Water bears can also survive extreme radiation.

Tardigrades need water to eat, reproduce, and thrive. However, they can live without water for over a decade and some types of tardigrades may be able to live without it for a century.

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According to Microbial Life: Educational Resources, water bears can survive temperatures as low as -328 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 304 degrees Fahrenheit. They can withstand 1,000 times the deadly human dosage of X-ray radiation and pressures as much as 6 times that of the deepest parts of the ocean.

Pretty tough for an animal only 0.05 to 1.2 millimeters long.

How is this Possible?

Tardigrade can survive extreme conditions. They have evolved the ability to dehydrate themselves and slow their metabolism, forcing themselves into a kind of suspended animation. This allows them to survive all sorts of environments.

The kings of survival.
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According to Popular Mechanics, tardigrades can survive with as little as 3% their total water mass and can slow their metabolism down to 0.01%.

When faced with harsh conditions, the bears curl up inside themselves and shrivel up.

It’s uncertain how long tardigrades can survive in this state, anywhere from a decade to a century. However if not in suspended animation water bears typically only live a few months.

An Italian scientist found a tardigrade in an old, dry piece of moss in 1948. The moss was over 120 years old. When rehydrated the water bear was found to be alive!

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Space

Scientists have been studying water bears for some time in an attempt to determine if their survivability could help humans. Many space agencies have sent water bears into space.  

In 2007, scientists in Europe sent tardigrades on a journey on the outside of a FOTON-M3 rocket, leaving them in space for ten days, and then brought them home. It was found that 68% of the water bears survived the trip. Some had even laid eggs, producing healthy offspring.

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Studying these creatures has huge implications for human space travel. If scientists can figure out how to apply some of this creatures' natural responses to humans, we could travel to the stars in suspended animation.

If a species can survive in space the same way the water bear can then this also increases the likelihood that other planets have life. Microorganisms like the tardigrade could easily hitch a ride on an asteroid to another planet and if conditions were hospitable enough, populate the surface with life.

*wriggle, wriggle*
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I find these creatures extremely adorable. Look at his cute little legs!

Thanks for reading!

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