Wednesday, October 3, 2012

My fav creature



Tardigrades, or fondly called 'water bear' can survive any and all of the following: extreme pressure, radiation, the vacuum of space, boiling, freezing (close to absolute zero) and dehydration. 

They can go without water for 10 years (and probably a lot longer), entering cryptobiosis (extreme hibernation) and reducing their metabolism to less than 0.01% of normal.

And they only take a short while to return to normal with the reintroduction of water.

In order to survive during cryptobiosis, the tardigrade enters a state called a ‘tun’. This happens very quickly and makes them practically indestructible. 

All of these and they make you go ‘awww’, no?

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