Tardigrades, sometimes referred to as water bears, have a mythical toughness. The eight-legged microscopic animals can survive freezing temperatures close to absolute zero, pressure six times greater than what's at the ocean floor, hundreds of times the radiation that would floor a human, and the vacuum of space. Scientists have now decoded their DNA to figure out how they do it.
Key to tardigrade survival is their ability to resist desiccation. They can survive states of extreme dryness, like being denied food and water for 30 years. Many animals develop methods of desiccation resistance (it's one of the main uses of an exoskeleton). Other animals, like dung beetles, alter their behavior to preserve body water. What makes tardigrades different is that desiccation resistance is embedded within their DNA.
"We identified a number of genetic systems in the tardigrades that likely play conserved, central roles in anhydrobiosis as well as species-unique components," says Yuki Yoshida of Keio University, a lead co-author of the paper documenting the results. Anhydrobiosis is a dormant state brought on by drought in which an organism, most likely a tardigrade, reduces its metabolic levels to nearly undetectable states.
So there's a tardigrade loop: dry environments trigger anhydrobiosis, and then genes produce proteins which replace missing water in their cells. When water comes around again, it replenishes the cells as the proteins dissolve.
While it's unlikely that we'll be able to endow ourselves with the superhuman strength of tardigrade DNA, humanity has a vested interest in figuring out they can do it. "Tardigrades, with their amazing abilities, can offer us some new ways of dealing with real world problems like transporting vaccines," co-author Mark Blaxter tells the BBC.
Imbued with elements of tardigrade DNA, live vaccines could be posted worldwide and stored without refrigeration. With drones taking an active role in vaccine transportation, the tougher they could be made, the better.
Source: BBC
David Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He's previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He's based out of Brooklyn.
