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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Tardigrade in Moss
NASA ^ | March 06, 2013 | (see photo credit)

Posted on 03/06/2013 4:58:16 PM PST by SunkenCiv

Explanation: Is this an alien? Probably not, but of all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate. That's because tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades without food or water, to survive temperatures from near absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, to survive pressures from near zero to well above that on ocean floors, and to survive direct exposure to dangerous radiations. The far-ranging survivability of these extremophiles was tested in 2011 outside an orbiting space shuttle. Tardigrades are so durable partly because they can repair their own DNA and reduce their body water content to a few percent. Some of these miniature water-bears almost became extraterrestrials recently when they were launched toward to the Martian moon Phobos on board the Russian mission Fobos-Grunt, but stayed terrestrial when a rocket failed and the capsule remained in Earth orbit. Tardigrades are more common than humans across most of the Earth. Pictured above in a color-enhanced electron micrograph, a millimeter-long tardigrade crawls on moss.

March 06, 2013

(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; cryptobiology; cryptozoology; extremophile; extremophiles; panspermia; science; tardigrade; xplanets
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[Credit & Copyright: Nicole Ottawa & Oliver Meckes / Eye of Science / Science Source Images]

1 posted on 03/06/2013 4:58:24 PM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
So much for the "nothing could survive a ride down to the Earth's surface aboard a meteorite" claim. A good one for the X-Planets list, which admittedly has been a slow mover of late.
 
X-Planets
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Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

2 posted on 03/06/2013 5:02:38 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; married21; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; ...
So much for the "nothing could survive a ride down to the Earth's surface aboard a meteorite" claim. This picture is probably best at this size, the large one may freak ya out.

3 posted on 03/06/2013 5:03:11 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Wow, that looks like a man-made object! The “snout” looks like a plastic grommet of some sort!


4 posted on 03/06/2013 5:03:17 PM PST by WXRGina (The Founding Fathers would be shooting by now.)
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To: WXRGina

Cool indeed.


5 posted on 03/06/2013 5:20:04 PM PST by traderrob6
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To: SunkenCiv

Somebody has to say it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1wzQNzttSk


6 posted on 03/06/2013 5:23:28 PM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: SunkenCiv

Reminds me of Al Gore.


7 posted on 03/06/2013 6:16:24 PM PST by left that other site (Worry is the darkroom that developes negatives.)
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To: SunkenCiv

This isn’t directed in any way to be negative toward you, as we all know that you don’t choose the pictures, but this has to be one of the more lame APOD pics ever. Not only is it terrestrial, but it’s also MADE UP. lol

Surely they aren’t running low on APOD material!


8 posted on 03/06/2013 6:23:03 PM PST by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: SunkenCiv

Back in the day, I had a few tardigades, so I especially appreciate this creature!


9 posted on 03/06/2013 6:28:27 PM PST by spankalib (The downside of liberty is the need to tolerate those who despise it.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Somebody tell me that guy survived having his picture taken by a Scanning Electron Microscope, and then I’ll be impressed!


10 posted on 03/06/2013 6:32:07 PM PST by dr_lew
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To: SunkenCiv

Great googlie ooglies! The female sheds her skin and lays eggs in it, and then the male mates with the skin. It’s SILENCE OF THE TARDIGRADES all over again.


11 posted on 03/06/2013 6:38:00 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: SunkenCiv

The face looks like the snowman from RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER with a mini gun coming out of its nose.


12 posted on 03/06/2013 6:42:02 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: WXRGina

Well, technically it’s a woman-made object, once she allowed it to slide out of her cloaca.


13 posted on 03/06/2013 7:02:10 PM PST by lbryce (BHO:"Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds by way Oppenheiner at Trinity NM)
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To: SunkenCiv

They can grow to enormous size.

14 posted on 03/06/2013 7:31:52 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: KoRn

Tardigrades (commonly known as waterbears or moss piglets)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

http://www.google.com/images?q=tardigrade


15 posted on 03/06/2013 7:35:04 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: lbryce
Well, technically it’s a woman-made object, once she allowed it to slide out of her cloaca.

Now, no. "Technically" and truly, God made the creatures (even if females, that He also made, "spit them out"), but that image looks like something out of a Chinese factory cranking out toys for kids--"fake," in other words.

16 posted on 03/06/2013 8:01:06 PM PST by WXRGina (The Founding Fathers would be shooting by now.)
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To: SunkenCiv
From your wiki link:

"Tardigrades can withstand temperatures from just above absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water. They can survive pressures greater than any found in the deepest ocean trenches and have lived through the vacuum of outer space.

They can survive solar radiation, gamma radiation, ionic radiation— at doses hundreds of times higher than would kill a person. They can go without food or water for nearly 10 years, drying out to the point where they are 3% or less water, only to rehydrate, forage, and reproduce."

17 posted on 03/06/2013 9:00:36 PM PST by Ken H
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To: SunkenCiv

Ah, but I see you already knew that:)


18 posted on 03/06/2013 9:03:08 PM PST by Ken H
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To: SunkenCiv

Dang man! That’s the wildest thing you have ever posted. At first I thought this was a joke.


19 posted on 03/06/2013 9:45:08 PM PST by houeto (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

Why were the Russians going to put these things on Phobos?

Didn’t they have a clean room or were they going on purpose?


20 posted on 03/07/2013 12:27:04 PM PST by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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