The only animal that can survive in space holds the key to planet Earth's future
Tiny tardigrades, also fondly referred to as water bears, are truly amazing: these seemingly indestructible creatures are the only animals known to survive the vacuum of space, researchers have now published a report in (PNAS) that one-sixth of their DNA comes from foreign organisms.
These researchers said, that tardigrades are able to survive extreme temperatures by withstanding desiccation. When these animals dry out, their DNA breaks into tiny pieces and when they re-hydrate, they repair their DNA, by taking in foreign DNA through leaky cell membranes. This unique genetic variation has probably made the tardigrades evolve more maneuvers to help them withstand environmental extremes.
