https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho2sPvza0oA
You'd never guess from looking at these clips that the millimeter-long tardigrade is the world's toughest animal, found from deep ocean to Himalayan mountaintops, able to survive at a single degree above absolute zero.
How tough are tardigrades? They require water to live, but in a pinch can drop their metabolism to a hundredth of normal and wait – up to a decade if necessary – until it's wet again. In this so-called cryptobiotic state they can shrug off lethal radiation doses and even the vacuum of space.
But for all that, if you've got a pond nearby, or even a patch of rocks and moss, you've probably got yourself some tardigrades. They're egalitarian as well as exceptional. And to help imagine them, take a look at these videos; maybe it's just Monday morning, but they seem simultaneously ethereal and earthy, more soulful than I'd ever expect a few thousand cells to be.
See Also:
