tardigrade

[quaxk]

awwwww :)

[umberwolf]

Looks like he's caught against the slide. Poor little creature... tortured by the human need to know. Wait... do micro-organisms have gender?

[xboxcp]

@umberwolf tortured? LMAO these bears are the toughest thing on the planet...Im serious

[umberwolf]

@xboxcp Viva la Bears!

[BlueBerryWizard]

@umberwolf

1. Most divide asexually.

2. They are not capable of emotions.

3. Tardigrade can survive in the vacuum of space, radioactive environments, extreme heat, and everywhere else on Planet Earth. They're an extremophile that pretty much can't be killed.

4. They will probably outlast the homo genus.

[umberwolf]

@BlueBerryWizard I'm pretty sure a lot of things will outlast the home genus.

[bijoutier45]

@BlueBerryWizard Tardigrades can't asexually divide... they're animals, actually related to nematodes and arthropods.

[electricityrevealed1]

omnom!

[billyhay]

i know of at least one case in which a water bear was in an ICP concert for 2 hours and survived

[AhMunnaEechu]

He looks like he's grabbing little specks and stuffing his face with them! :D om nom nom nom nom nom nom nom

[belleande]

is so beautiful > _ < this animal is amazing

[shotgunXxXeyes]

cutest ever!!!!!!!!

[N10ess]

These things can survive -272 °C (~1 degree above absolute zero)

They can go into outer space and survive some time.

They can withstand more than 1,200 times atmospheric pressure

They can withstand pressure of 6,000 atmospheres, which is nearly six times the pressure of water in the deepest ocean trench

They can survive nearly 10 years in a dry state

They can withstand median lethal doses of 5,000 Gy gamma rays and 6,200 Gy (heavy ions) in hydrated animals (5 to 10 Gy could be fatal to a humans

[hylkeenteroittaja]

@N10ess I know of at least one case in which the water bear was in a dry state for 120 years and survived.

[LimaoAzeddo]

@N10ess Wow.

[farlaineloco]

how sweet it is collecting cells with its tiny hands . like a grizzly catches fish

[Akiko43]

Just amazing and fascinating =D

[static56um]

Water was bear.

[FREggE94]

tardigrades might be the coolest animals ever. they are FAT and practically invincible.

[chainRINGU]

Indestructible gummy bear! Tardigrades are so adorable.

[ColdoTannen]

imagine him making sounds: Gahr! Durkaduhr! Glargh! Arghle!

...^^

[MagiMysteryTour]

Those are the Gaelic water bears, found mostly in the Hebrides.

[puppyfreya8]

look how hes grabbing the stuff to eat so cute :D

[quikflow]

Is the tardigrade a protist?

[littleChloe22]

@quikflow No, it's an animal, quite a small animal admittedly.

[tessbybee]

@quikflow no, the tardigrade is actually classified in the animal kingdom, hence the lack of flagella

[UsernameWinvalid]

its like a dream i once had

GOD DAMMIT WHY THE FUCK AM I SOO SLOW!!!

[sainticello]

OOOOUUU es muy bonito

[Emi212]

AWW! Its adorable! X3

[MetaSonic543]

a water bear wood make a cool horror movie

[michelleybean0]

SO CUTE!! :D

[artisanrox]

water bears are the cutest microorganism ever

[ader541]

hes like god damn it i cant move

[jovezza59]

Is the green little thing moves beside him, is he's baby?

[tadigrat]

Omg ur question is prettier then tardigrade^^

[BrunoHP89IT]

I had never seen a moving Tardigrada, they are amazing!

[SixStringArt]

thanks! :) I have a cover of malaguena up, although it is pretty old, I've been meaning to upload some DMB covers. well, I mean, wouldn't it be cool to choose how long you live though? for example, if the gene that prevented/slowed senescence in hydras was (hypothetically) able to be used as an anti-aging substance, you could simply stop taking it at some point, if life became boring, i just think it would be cool to have that choice :)

[SixStringArt]

oh, I was wondering how they observed them! thanks xerga, but also, I read that they would undergo full body cell replacement, like humans do every 7 years i think, but because they have regenerative abilities as well, their cells were 100% replaced and that part of human aging is that, when humans undergo full cell replacement, some amount is "left over", and this amount of dead/old cells build up over time. have you heard of that theory/idea? I hope it's true, immortality would be great =)

[FyerEgg]

hes like "Watch out, im like lightning!"

[Ghanrage]

It's almost like these little things are an insurance policy for animals. If the world is ever flash frozen, irradiated by a huge sun flare, or cloaked in nuclear winter, these little creatures will evolve into a new generation of animals in the current species' absence.

[kion854]

They've found water bears sleeping for over 700 years ; . ;. At least that's what my science teacher told me ; . ;.

[IndieComedyFilms]

and they can survive a vacuum environment, like in space for an indefinite amount of time. thats what mine told me

[charmixy]

how long can they live? i know they can survive harsh conditions over hundreds of years..but wats their age limit? or are they immortal ,that be so cute!

[SixStringArt]

charmixy, I've read that they can live for about a century, however, this is only an estimation by a scientist who obviously has not been around long enough to actually watch one live for that period. however, tardigrades can go into cryptobiosis, which is similar to the cryogenic technology that scientists are designing. However, their cryptobiosis is much more tough and advanced than what our technology can do. When in that state, they can live for a decade with no water, (continued)

[SixStringArt]

(continued) for several months at temperatures of -200 C, for several minutes at temperature of +150 C, tolerate radiation 1,000 times stronger than what would kill a human, as well as being capable of surviving in a space vacuum for a week or something like that. Although they're not immortal, they're pretty much invincible! But, there is a biologically immortal genus of animals. They are called Hydras and do not age. You can find more info on them on Wikipedia. lol hope that thelped

[charmixy]

woah i cant imagine 7 mins in 150C..thats like being boiled alive..o well thanks ^_^

[Calraug]

However they can't survive extreme temperatures like the Tardigrade. Though imagine a combination of both species. D:

[SixStringArt]

omg that would be super awesome, but imagine throwing humans into the mix

>8D  mwahahaha

[RyanatorML2000]

What is that green organism to the left of the tardigrade in the beginning of the video?

[kanazo]

could be euglenoid?

[operations1000]

This damn thing maybe cute but it sure won't miss us when the world ends, all animals die and Earth is only filled with billions of those things :P

[pygrre35]

le tardigrade merci pour cette video

[Pythybaby]

LOOK AT THE LITTLE FEET IT'S SOO CUTE

[spartakiad]

It's so cute :))

[drmcgray]

I am doing some experiments on them right now. I have an unlimited supply of them and even larger nematodes from the lichen growing on the tree in front yard. I will post some when get the camera rolling.

[vhuynhsfsu]

were you at Alex's house warming party in SF Saturday night?

[DisturbedbyDeth356]

i think its great you can find one of the oldest living organisms almost anywhere in the world, even your back garden.

[junkietomato]

This is the toughest creature known to man.

[deaneden79]

And we're going to apply that "toughness" to pharmaceutical development by studying it's cryptobiosis state and the trehalose sugar it utilizes. And then in 3 years, we'll be putting them on the endangered species list...hehe.

[junkietomato]

That's very interesting. I've heard it can survive in outerspace.

[deaneden79]

And in even in radioactive material several thousand times higher than what humans can stand but both of these are only for briefs periods I believe. They can also survive in high and low temps but all of these are only made possible by cryptobiosis.

[junkietomato]

yes exactly.

[riptidemage]

they can survive 1140 times more rads of x-ray radiation then us(570,000 is fatal to them vs our 500)

[23Sirus23]

@deaneden79 Looks like your 3 year estimation was wrong.

[PineappleFruitCup]

Cutest thing ever!!!!!! <3

[gentdelbarcelona3]

Hes like a giant monster compared to those small amoeba

[iluvstucy]

*<:D

[HurtingYourFeelings]

I can see why people find it "cute". It's got short stubbly limbs and moves/looks like some kind of baby rodent.

Weird creature, really.