• Tardigrades are hardy enough to survive large asteroid impacts and even supernova blasts. • Water bears have survived all five mass extinctions on Earth since they first evolved about half a billion ...

Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are unique microscopic animals that enter cryptobiotic states upon desiccation and thereby survive in extreme conditions, including radiation, ...

In a lab at the University of Kent in the United Kingom, Alejandra Traspas and Mark Burchell shot frozen tardigrades from a gas-powered gun at 3,600 kilometers per hour — for science. “We have fired ...

Multiple ancient and extinct species of tardigrades, aka “water bears,” can now be seen in unprecedented, high-resolution detail thanks to high-powered microscopy tools. With these new observations, ...