BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE WATER BEAR

If I were to pick a favorite animalcule (old fashioned term for “microscopic animal”) I would select the water bear every time.  These animals are so unique they have their own phylum.  They belong to the Tardigrada meaning “slow steppers”.  These critters have four pairs of legs with claws that are used to rip open their prey and suck out their nutrients (I’m exaggerating here… they mostly feed on algae or other plants).  My first encounter with a water bear occurred when one of the graduate professors invited me to examine a water sample from a puddle on the top of our science building.  There they were, crawling around under the microscope like little wind-up bears.  Then the real fun began.  You can dry out the water bear and it will curl up into a barrel-looking tun.  We did this repeatedly with child-lie delight!  Tardigrades can suspend their metabolism and survive all sorts of “trauma” and reanimate when conditions are better.  This ability is called cryptobiosis.  Cryptobiosis has allowed water bears to achieve several record feats including dehydration, extreme cold (-272°C), extreme heat (149°C), and space.  A study by scientists from Oxford and Harvard concluded that water bears could survive asteroid impacts, gamma-ray bursts, and supernova blasts.  It may not be the cockroach that is the last animal standing… but the water bear.

You can read more about their hardy nature at https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/27/the-five-tardigrades-tiny-but-tough-subglacial-lake-antarctica-heat-cold-vacuum-space-resilience