Fed2 Star - the newsletter for the space trading game Federation 2

The weekly newsletter for Fed2
by ibgames

EARTHDATE: March 10, 2013

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ALIEN OF THE WEEK

by Hazed

Take a look at this hideous creature. Is it a space alien come to enslave us all? Actually, no, despite the fact that it looks like it’s wearing a slightly wrinkled spacesuit, it’s a monster found here on Earth - but a very tiny one.

The little fellow in the picture is only 1 millimetre long. It’s a tardigrade, also known as a waterbear or a moss piglet. Those names are deceptive because it is neither a bear nor a pig, it’s in a category all of its own.

The small, water-dwelling tardigrades are notable for being incredibly hardy (hardygrades!). They can survive in conditions that most other Earth creatures would find deadly: temperatures from just above absolute zero to well above water’s boiling point; pressures greater than that found in the deepest of ocean trenches; and even the vacuum of space. They laugh at radiation doses hundreds of times higher than humans can withstand. They can live for nearly 10 years without food or water.

The reason they are so durable is because they can repair their own DNA. They can also reduce their body’s water content to about 3%.

The picture shows a tardigrade crawling on moss, and it was taken by an electron micrograph. The detail is amazing. Don’t let it give you nightmares!

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