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Tardigrade anatomy [3]. Tardigrades have a short plump body with four pairs of hollow unjointed legs. Most range from 0.1 to 0.5 mm (0.004 to 0.02 in) in length, although the largest species may reach 1.3 mm (0.051 in).
Tardigrades can withstand 1,000 times more radiation than other animals, [17] median lethal doses of 5,000 Gy (of gamma rays) and 6,200 Gy (of heavy ions) in hydrated animals (5 to 10 Gy could be fatal to a human). [18] Earlier experiments attributed this to their lowered water content, providing fewer reactants for ionizing radiation. [18]
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Tardigrades, which are eight-legged micro-animals, are commonly referred to as water bears or moss piglets and are found all over the world in varying extreme habitats. First discovered in 1904 and originally named Hypsibius antarcticus , Acutuncus antarcticus is the most abundant tardigrade species in Antarctica.
Dsup (contraction of damage suppressor) is a DNA-associating protein, unique to the tardigrade, [1] that suppresses the occurrence of DNA breaks by radiation. [2] [3] When human HEK293 cells were engineered with Dsup proteins, they showed approximately 40% more tolerance against X-ray radiation.
In this state, tardigrades decrease their bodily water to about 1–3% wt./wt. [5] Although this state allows certain tardigrades to endure temperatures at the extremes of –273° and 150 °C at the extremes, tardigrades in their hydrated state are able to withstand temperatures as low as –196 °C.
Living among the mats are bacteria, yeasts, molds, and an array of microscopic invertebrates that feed on microbes, algae, and detritus: nematodes, protozoa, rotifers, tardigrades, and occasionally, mites and springtails. [4] Even simpler communities exist in the arid soils that occupy the majority of the landscape. [3]
This is based on the principle that if a non-human animal's responses to stimuli are similar to those of humans, it is likely to have had an analogous experience. It has been argued that if a pin is stuck in a chimpanzee 's finger and they rapidly withdraw their hand, then argument-by-analogy implies that like humans, they felt pain.