Tardigrade – Heather Sherman

25 Oct Tardigrade – Heather Sherman

Tardigrade, Life is Stranger Than Fiction

Have you ever met a Tardigrade?? Here she is, direct from the files of Life is Stranger (and Creepier) Than Fiction. If you’ve ever stepped in a puddle, chances are you’ve shared your socks with them. They average less than a quarter millimeter in length, but these little microbes are the hardiest animal on the planet. They prefer damp moss, but can found in nearly every biome from frozen arctic to hot springs, Himalayan mountaintops to deep sea, up to 24,000 individuals per liter of beach sand. They are able to survive the vacuum of space for at least 10 days, as discovered recently on the ISS. Removed from water, they desiccate, and can reanimate, alive and undamaged, for 30 years or longer. Resistant to most forms of radiaton and toxins, they are naturally the subject of much scientific interest. They pierce other planty-microbes (rotifers) with their creep-inspiring triradiate, a muscular, sucking pharynx. Made for my heebie-jeebie prone friends, with squishy kisses. I bet you’ll never look at that puddle the same again…

Heather Sherman
Art2Eat Cakes
www.art2eatcakes.com