temperatures that are both extreme cold and hot, high-energy radiation, and a vacuum... Space circumstances are tough for humans and other living things to cope with. The water bear, on the other hand, is capable of surviving in such harsh conditions..
temperatures that are both extreme cold and hot, high-energy radiation, and a vacuum... Space circumstances are tough for humans and other living things to cope with. The water bear, on the other hand, is capable of surviving in such harsh conditions..
ImageTardigrade or Water bear
How Do Water Bears Identify Their Own Characteristics?
Insects known as water bears, sometimes known as tardigrades, are minute animals that live in the oceans, freshwater lakes and rivers, and on land, but are undetectable to the naked eye because they are microscopic.
Water bears can tolerate temperatures as low as -200 degrees Celsius and as high as 150 degrees Celsius, according to the National Geographic.
Water bears are between 0.1 and 1 millimeters in length on average. Their bodies are made up of four body segments and a head segment, each of which has a set of clawed legs.
The presence of a thin layer of water surrounding their bodies is required for water bears to be active. It is for this reason that land-based water bears enjoy moist surroundings.
A state of quiescence known as cryptobiosis is entered by water bears when their living conditions become unfavorable. During this stage, their metabolic activity slows to a crawl. Because of their qualities, they can survive at extremely high altitudes, in the depths of the ocean, and in extremely cold locations such as Antarctica.
ImageAnalysing a pet tardigrade
What is the genetic basis for the unique powers of water bears?
In 2016, a group of scientists successfully mapped the DNA of Ramazzottius varieornatus, one of the water bear species that is the most resistant to high-energy radiation. As a result of gene research, they identified a protein known as "Dsup," which protects water bear DNA from the harmful effects of radiation and allows damaged DNA to be repaired. This protein has the potential to save lives. This protein forms an attachment with the DNA found in the cell's nucleus.
A wide range of DNA damage mechanisms, including molecule splitting, can be caused by high-energy X-rays. The researchers investigated the effect of the Dsup protein on DNA breakage caused by X-rays breaking cell-to-cell interactions. As a result, researchers discovered that the percentage of tiny DNA fragments formed as a result of breaks in the DNA molecule in cells that produce the Dsup protein was 16 percent. This rate was 33 percent in cells that did not contain the Dsup protein. According to the researchers, these data indicate that the Dsup protein is a one-of-a-kind protein that shields DNA from X-ray damage.
Because of this water bear-specific protein, humans may be able to survive on other planets in the future. It can also be used to safeguard workers who are exposed to radiation as a result of their jobs, as well cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.
Because of their high radiation tolerance, water bears are the first species that come to mind when scientists think about investigating life in space.
Imagea tardigrades surviving in space
Ingemar Jönsson and colleagues from Kristianstad University in Sweden conducted the first study to explore an animal's ability to thrive in open space environments. The findings were published in the journal Science Advances. As part of the project, the European Space Agency (ESA) released 3,000 water bears into Low Earth Orbit at a height of 270 kilometers in September 2007 using the Foton-M3 spacecraft, which flew at a speed of 270 kilometers per hour. Water bears were exposed to cosmic radiation from the Sun, as well as vacuum conditions, for a total of 12 hours in space.
The vast majority of water bears that were subjected to the harsh conditions of space survived when they returned to Earth's atmosphere. Most significantly, even after journeying to the edge of space, the water bears that survived preserved their ability to reproduce.
In recent years, the development of a colony on Mars has been identified as one of the most important goals of space research. If civilization is to survive on Mars, it will need to construct habitats that will protect them from the harsh conditions of space. The ability to understand how water bears survive in space, on the other hand, could allow us to come up with a new solution to this problem.
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