By Nick Lavars
October 13, 2020
The tardigrade is one of nature’s toughest animals, using a unique form of hibernation to endure otherwise fatal conditions such as extreme heat and pressure, or even the vacuum of space. Scientists have now discovered a new species of tardigrade that expands this array of survival tools, employing a type of fluorescent shield to protect itself against lethal UV radiation.
Also known as water bears or moss piglets, tardigrades are microscopic critters that have come to amaze scientists with their incredible durability. They are thought to be one of the only species to have survived all of the five major extinction events, can withstand the crushing forces at the bottom of the ocean, and can get by without food, water or oxygen.
They do this by compacting their bodies in a way that reorganizes their internal organs, entering a state of deep suspended animation. This essentially freezes them and protects them from lethal threats, until conditions become safe for them to emerge from hibernation. So effective is this trick that one Harvard-led study in 2017 concluded that tardigrades might even live to see our Sun die.
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science have been investigating the survival mechanisms used by tardigrades, gathering specimens from the area and subjecting them to extreme conditions, as reported by Science. In one of the experiments, the team exposed the tardigrades to a germicidal UV lamp at doses sufficient to kill bacteria and roundworms in minutes.
More:
https://newatlas.com/biology/new-tardigrade-species-light-fluorescent-shield/
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