Creature Survives in Space

[kstar]

This is cool.

It's one small step for Tardigrada, and one giant leap for the animal kingdom: The toughest creature on Earth has survived a trip into space.

Except for a few hardy strains of bacteria, any other creature would have been destroyed -- but tardigrades handled the voyage as though it were a dry spell on their local moss patch.

"They have claws and eyes. They are real animals. And this is the first time such an animal was tested in space," said Petra Rettberg, an Institute of Aerospace Medicine microbiologist.

Better known as water bears, tardigrades are eight-legged invertebrates visible to the naked eye and found throughout the world, making them a biology class favorite.
They're capable of halting their metabolisms during times of extreme privation, and can repair DNA damage caused by extraordinary doses of radiation -- a phenomenon that's piqued scientific curiosity and prompted researchers to shoot tardigrades into naked orbit around the Earth.

"The repair -- how fast, how efficient, with or without errors -- is different, but basic damage is the same," said Rettberg, who helped design a tardigrade containment system attached to the Foton-M3 satellite, launched last September by a consortium of national space agencies.

The tardigrades had already been coaxed into an anhydrobiotic state, during which their metabolisms slow by a factor of 10,000. This allows them to survive vacuums, starvation, dessication and temperatures above 300 degrees Fahrenheit and below minus 240 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once in orbit, the tardigrade box popped open. Some were exposed to low-level cosmic radiation, and others to both cosmic and unfiltered solar radiation. All were exposed to the frigid vacuum of space.

Back on Earth, tardigrades that had basked in cosmic radiation revived and reproduced at rates comparable to an unexposed control group. Those dosed with solar radiation were less likely to wake -- but that even a few survived, wrote Rettberg's team in findings published today in Current Biology, was remarkable.

Just how the invertebrate astronauts protected themselves "remains a mystery," wrote the researchers. Rettberg's next task is to identify the responsible genes -- a basic step, perhaps, in better understanding and improving human DNA repair.
Tardigrades may even provide insights into adaptations necessary for survival in off-Earth colonies, though they could not live actively in the extreme and nutrient-poor environments of Mars or the moon.

However, Rettberg cautioned against expecting too much from such early findings.
"It'll just be interesting to see what the mechanisms are in tardigrades, compared to the very simple ones in bacteria and more complex systems in higher organisms," she said. "But in addition, it's just fun."

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/invertebrate-as.html

[gassy]

Let's put some in the Hardon Collider thingy.

[cmccuist]

A cockroach can do all that.

[scottmandue]

So after the nuclear holocaust Tardigradas will rule the world?

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

A cockroach can do all that.

Only because Chuck Norris allows it to survive.

[Jeff Higgins]

Such mindless torture of small, helpless animals. I bet they pulled the wings off of flies and put frogs in their model rockets when they were kids.

[scottmandue]

Will the tardigrada's and cockroach's live in peace or will the rebuild the world waring with each other?

[Seric]

I'm suprised PETA hasn't protested this yet. Perhaps we can shoot some of them into space?

[kang]

Cool. Adds some data to the idea that life here on Earth arrived from space.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by kang

Cool. Adds some data to the idea that life here on Earth arrived from space.

Did you evolve from tardigrades? How are those claws and eight legs working out?

[RPKESQ]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Did you evolve from tardigrades? How are those claws and eight legs working out?

The answer to your first question is yes, at least from a common ancestor. And the answer to your second question is that the adaptations from that common ancestor are working out just fine. Thanks for asking.

[kang]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Did you evolve from tardigrades? How are those claws and eight legs working out?

Huh? Did I, in any way, shape or form, say that I evolved from tardigrades?

[Mule]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Did you evolve from tardigrades?

Some more than others.

[Laneco]

Water bears are really interesting! Pelican off-topic provides some pretty diverse learning... Water bears, bucky balls, the collider that will end the world (hopefully not)...

angela

[kstar]

Tardigrades: Good eatin'?

I wonder how long they can survive in space? My non-scientific guess is a very long time, considering their biology and ability to repair their DNA.

If humans fail to establish colonies on other planets, we could always blast millions of these bugs into space before the sun blows up or we get hit by a big rock.

Before we do this, I think we should add some code to their DNA; a message from their "Gods", the almighty humans! Hehe.

[rouxroux]

Hmmm. 8 legs & claws? Add some Zatarains, lemon, corn and potatos to about 10 million of 'em, and let's see if they'll boil!

[Mule]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

Hmmm. 8 legs & claws? Add some Zatarains, lemon, corn and potatos to about 10 million of 'em, and let's see if they'll boil!

Are they hard to peel? I bet those Viet Namese women at Pat's Seafood could buzz through 'em!

[sammyg2]

tard-igrades?
I don't think that is PC, and I know I didn't evolve from tard-igrades. Not that there's anything wrong with that

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

tard-igrades?
I don't think that is PC, and I know I didn't evolve from tard-igrades. Not that there's anything wrong with that

That just looks like a bad acid trip to me.

[rouxroux]

I swear I saw the bottom pink one floating over a Pink Floyd concert!