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Everything about tardigrades sounds like a riddle: What creature can survive both freezing and boiling temperatures; you can't see it, but it's everywhere; it can survive outer space; and after being dried up for years, it can reanimate in water within a few minutes? The answer is just as puzzling: tardigrades, which are also called "water bears" or "moss piglets," are aquatic, microscopic invertebrates that have recently captivated evolutionary biologists and science enthusiasts alike for their unique ability to withstand extreme conditions. There is photographic evidence too that tardigrades are adorable. Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at...

Adam Korbitz writes "New Scientist and Science Daily are reporting the results of an intriguing experiment in which scientists launched tardigrades or 'water bears' — tiny invertebrates about one millimeter long — into space onboard the European Space Agency's FOTON-M3 spacecraft. After 10 days in the vacuum of space, the satellite returned to Earth and the tardigrades were recovered. The tardigrades survived the vacuum just fine, but exposure to the Sun's ultraviolet radiation proved deadly for most of the water bears. However, some did survive. The tardigrades are the first animals to have survived such an experiment, a feat previously...