tardigrade

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Space Station to Receive a Whole Lot of Squid

Astronauts hope to learn survival tactics from 128 baby squid, 5K tardigrades

(Newser) - A cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for Thursday, will see astronauts enjoy apples, avocado, and other fresh food—not including the 128 baby squid along for the ride on SpaceX's Dragon, launched by the Falcon 9 rocket . These glow-in-the-dark baby bobtail squid will become part...

Tardigrades May Have Survived Crash Landing on Moon

Microscopic creatures can live most anywhere

(Newser) - When humans return to the moon, they may find other living creatures waiting for them. The cargo on an Israeli private lunar lander, Beresheet, that crashed onto the moon's surface in April included a box full of a few thousand dehydrated tardigrades. The microscopic creatures, considered one of the...

These Weird Creatures Will Live Long Enough to See Sun Die

Researchers unable to theoretically kill off the tardigrade

(Newser) - A study published Friday in Scientific Reports found there is one life form that will likely survive long enough to watch the Sun die out. And it's not Keith Richards. According to a press release , the study found that no astrophysical catastrophe nor extinction event will be enough to...

After 30 Years on Ice, This Thing Came Back to Life

Revived tardigrade sets new record

(Newser) - Japanese researchers have successfully awakened a microscopic tardigrade (more colloquially known as a waterbear) after it spent three decades in a subzero slumber, the Telegraph reports. That's a new record; previous Antarctic specimens were revived after about eight years, per the study, published last month in Cryobiology . In November...

World's Hardiest Creatures Survive 'Martian Soil'

Researchers seek to keep Earth stowaways away from Mars

(Newser) - A tiny but incredibly tough creature called the tardigrade has been identified as the Earth-dweller most likely to hitch a ride to Mars and survive once there—indicating that our methods for sterilizing Mars rovers may not be up to snuff. The millimeter-long creature, also known as the water bear,...

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