Science is Fun Fridays!
The adorable, microscopic tardigrade, also known as the water bear.
They can live just about anywhere - they can survive radiation, boiling liquids, massive pressure and even the vacuum of space. They're likely to keep on kicking long after we've been wiped out.
One aspect of their survival relies on cryptobiosis, a near death state they can enter by rolling into a dehydrated ball, (called a tun), retracting their head and legs. Once they're back in water, they come back to life, so to speak. In 2016, scientists revived two tuns that had been in cryptobiosis for 30 years!
They can also form a special tun that prevents the growth of ice crystals in cold temperatures.
When oxygen is low, they can stretch out which reduces their metabolic rate and their muscles can absorb enough oxygen and water to survive. And regarding radiation, they're able to produce a protein which protects their DNA from damage.
For food, water bears suck the juices from algae, lichens, and moss.
(See 1:30 and 4:15 in the video - after 5:00 it tries eating a big one).
Cannibalism has also been noted....
How cool is that?!
You never know what you might find in a drop of pond water....
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