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Last fall, we reported on the revelation that tardigrades, already known for being indestructible, are likewise about 16% non-tardigrade. They have quite a scrap of strange Deoxyribonucleic acid in their genome, and scientists aren't sure why it'due south there. Now scientists take revived tardigrades that have been frozen since at to the lowest degree the early on 80s. And the tardigrades don't even seem to take a hangover.

Non long after Han Solo got frozen in carbonite, we were excavation upwardly moss at Showa Station in Antarctica. Two developed tardigrades and an egg were institute in a sample of moss, and kept frozen for after enquiry, because why not? At present, a trio of Japanese scientists report in the latest issue of Cryobiology (full text available here through ScienceDirect) that all 3 showed signs of life on the first twenty-four hour period after being thawed, and they managed to fully revive i of the adults and the egg.

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Acutuncus antarcticus, shown with dark-green Chlorella algae in its stomach

The researchers genotyped the tardigrades and found that these particular individuals were native to Antarctica. Take a minute and consider that. These wee beasties are so fine with being frozen solid that they are native to the coldest place on the planet. They were kept frozen at -20°C for more than three decades in the NIPR lab — and before that, they were just chillaxing in the Antarctic ice for who knows how long. The developed redeveloped normal role, the egg developed into a normal adult, and both immediately began laying eggs, which hatched into normal, healthy offspring.

Tardigrades, also called h2o bears, are some of the almost durable creatures known to human. They tin can handle hard UV and the vacuum of space, which the ESA institute out in 2007 when they — and I am not kidding here — stuck aluminum thimbles total of dried tardigrades and tardigrade eggs to a satellite in LEO. At that place's only one other living thing that's survived freezing longer than tardigrades — a plant — and that could be because nosotros just didn't get the right species of tardigrade, or handle them properly. Nothing currently demands that 30 years frozen exist the limit of survivability, especially when tardigrades are known to be able to weather condition temperatures from manner above humid to almost accented zip.

Waterbear

The waterbear is clearly an Ice-blazon Pokémon, based on its spectacular thermal characteristics.

Some of the tardigrade'south survival skills come up from its ability to take an alternating course called a tun — a barrel-shaped, extremely durable form in which it can live through apparently everything past totally flatlining its metabolic processes. The tiny animal also makes a sugar called trehalose, which forms a cushioning antifreeze gel that surrounds its membranes and organelles during periods of stress. And tardigrades are really, really skilful at repairing damaged Dna.

Research into the absurd durability of these little creatures continues; scientists are currently working to figure out the tardigrade'south Dna repair mechanisms, in hopes of copying their tactics for human health applications.