Curse

Lord Sojar · Feb 02, 2009, 01:07 PM // 13:07

So, I was doing some reading... I found this article about these strange creatures. They are known as Tardigrada, but commonly referred to as Water Bears; however, not like anything you have seen before.

Why post about them? Well, they are so freaking amazing, why not? They can survive things that no other creatures can dream of...

First off, they can survive temperature ranges from 300 degrees Fahrenheit all the way down to -270 Fahrenheit.

In addition to their crazy temperature survival ability, they can also survive the vacuum of outer space for 10 days without dying. So, a vacuum is one thing... but how about being able to survive at 6,000x sea level pressure (6,000atm) That is nearly 6x the maximum pressure of the Marianas Trench... W T F

Impressive right? Well, they can survive a lot more than that. They can also survive 5,700 grays of radiation (to but it in perspective, humans are basically dead when you hit 15+) Some of them even survived the full onslaught of the Sun's UV radiation, which no other life on this planet can do.

Oh, that isn't all either. They can also survive near complete dehydration for many years (10-20), where they have lost 99% of their original water content. (A human dies of dehydration when we lose 15% of our total water content)

Read more about these weirdo creatures...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrada

The wikipedia article has links to more detailed studies on them... creepy little buggers.

kazi_saki · Feb 02, 2009, 02:50 PM // 14:50

cool. you guys should post more of these things whenever you find them. Actually, one of the mods should start a thread that compiles all these interesting finds. Its always nice to read about new or amazing things.

Bryant Again · Feb 02, 2009, 03:32 PM // 15:32

Another 'lil interesting article:

http://www.diagonale-groenland.asso....tardigrada.htm

But yeah, these guys are crazy bad-ass.

kostolomac · Feb 02, 2009, 03:38 PM // 15:38

These things are impressive.

Sir Skullcrasher · Feb 02, 2009, 05:07 PM // 17:07

I might be off by alot (and it's monday) but maybe the earth used to be an alien planet?

Tyla · Feb 02, 2009, 05:17 PM // 17:17

If they didn't look so disgusting, I'd want one...

Winterclaw · Feb 02, 2009, 06:12 PM // 18:12

If we take the genes from these guys as well as the genes from those jellyfish, we can just shoot a few couples into outer space and 2 million years later they'll land on other planets.

Sir Skullcrasher · Feb 02, 2009, 07:09 PM // 19:09

We take this gene along with some jellyfish, a great white shark, and governator. Shoot it to outer space, and we'll have ourself some cyborgs fun in the future!!

Arduin · Feb 02, 2009, 09:49 PM // 21:49

Cool indeed. But why are they acting like 'aliens'? It's not like they are mutilating cattle or something.

ZenRgy · Feb 02, 2009, 10:51 PM // 22:51

There's a creature that has 3 heads and sometimes can expel corrosive materials from it's mouth. It's called a Hydra.

Dante the Warlord · Feb 02, 2009, 11:50 PM // 23:50

Yea i also read an article. These water bears can actually live in space with no aid and succeed at it for a while (that is after they run out of food).

kazi_saki · Feb 03, 2009, 12:42 AM // 00:42

we should bring those things with our astronauts and drop them off in the moon with an eon's worth of waterbear food. Lets see how they'll evolve

. Maybe they'll turn into space cattle or something.

Kerwyn Nasilan · Feb 03, 2009, 01:29 AM // 01:29

Saw these things on the old Animal Planet show Most Extreme a few years ago, pretty dang cool though.

Lord Sojar · Feb 03, 2009, 01:50 AM // 01:50

Wow... being dipped in 96% alcohol and surviving... jeez...

Zen, I was reading up on hydras. Interesting creatures.... that whole being biologically immortal bit was really cool. They are also related to the jellyfish Winter mentioned.

Bobulation · Feb 03, 2009, 04:31 AM // 04:31

I don't believe you, wikipedia is not a trusted source.

/sarcasm

Snograt · Feb 03, 2009, 01:12 PM // 13:12

Something wrong here - "Earthly creatures that act like aliens", yet no mention of George W. Bush?

nebuchanezzar · Feb 03, 2009, 05:41 PM // 17:41

They have been used in experiments in space simply because of their...vigor so to speak. I am happy to see the world beginning to understand how diverse life really is on this jewel of a planet we have.
Just finding life on the volcanic vents in the bottom of the oceans forced biologists to reassess their understanding of life. Previous theories that were thrown away because they included organisms that lived in or around volcanic conditions and fed on nitrogen were taken off the shelves after decades of ridicule. The possibility that "life" could have been seeded from a cosmic object(meteorite, comet, etc) went from laughing stock/cheap sci-fi nonsense to a logical possibility.
Just love when people discover how truth IS stranger than fiction.

**Marty Silverblade** · Feb 04, 2009, 06:10 AM // 06:10

...Unless I'm missing something (read the OP in full, skimmed the rest), why are they called water bears? They don't even remotely resemble bears.

Shursh · Feb 04, 2009, 03:44 PM // 15:44

yes........but can they play guitar hero on expert??

lol yea that's pretty neat, hopefully scientists find a use for these things.

blue.rellik · Feb 05, 2009, 09:17 AM // 09:17

Damn

I was really expecting a bear that could in space, the bottom of the ocean and in lava