Posted on 03/06/2013 4:58:16 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Is this an alien? Probably not, but of all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate. That's because tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades without food or water, to survive temperatures from near absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, to survive pressures from near zero to well above that on ocean floors, and to survive direct exposure to dangerous radiations. The far-ranging survivability of these extremophiles was tested in 2011 outside an orbiting space shuttle. Tardigrades are so durable partly because they can repair their own DNA and reduce their body water content to a few percent. Some of these miniature water-bears almost became extraterrestrials recently when they were launched toward to the Martian moon Phobos on board the Russian mission Fobos-Grunt, but stayed terrestrial when a rocket failed and the capsule remained in Earth orbit. Tardigrades are more common than humans across most of the Earth. Pictured above in a color-enhanced electron micrograph, a millimeter-long tardigrade crawls on moss.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
Well, Civ, this is one the strangest postings. I had no idea these things existed.
Hey, what did that Tardigrade ever do to you?
One of them got tall enough to run as a Democrat for President in 2004. The bunny suit was a dead giveaway.
Just wait, I’ve got one. It’s not funny, but it’s still a joke.
Me either. At first glance it appeared to be some kind of new space suit test.
[singing] Come Mistah Tardigrade, Tally Me Some Mosses...
Whoops. Here’s where I meant it to go.
:’)
Little Stevie Wormwood sings.
JoeProBono, you’re an amazing artist, creative and on-the-spot. :-)
Wait. I didn’t mean that I thought you created those images, which I don’t. I mean that every time I see an image post of yours, it’s always creative and spot-on.
Harry and the Tardigrades?
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