Unprotected creatures still survive in the universe

There is a small 6-foot creature with the ability to pause all biological activities in a harsh environment to survive after a trip to space. It is also capable of instantly destroying almost all life forms, including humans.

For the first time, researchers have experimented with a large resistant bioreactor called "sea bear" . They exposed them to the harsh vacuum environment of the universe with deadly radiation on a spacecraft in the orbit of the Earth. Many of them still exist.

Sea bears, often called tardigrade, are likely similar to sea shrimp (also known as 'sea monkeys' ). They are known for resurrection after being transported to different homes by mail order. Tardigrade is about the size of a small spot, less than 1.5 mm long. They live on wet lichens and moss, but when the environment is dry they will wait until the water comes back. They also withstand heat, cold and radiation.

Their radiation resistance is the most surprising thing for scientists.

Long-lived tardigrade (also called 'sea bear').(Photo: Rick Gillis and Roger J. Haro, Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse)

They took the tardigrade to the FOTON-M3 spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in September 2007. They must be exposed to space conditions and then be checked again after returning to Earth. .

Most tardigrade species survive even in a vacuum environment where there are many cosmic rays, some of them even survive in environments with high levels of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. deadly (higher at the Earth's surface 1,000 times).

According to Cell Press, survivors can still "reproduce well after a space trip."

The researchers wrote: the way that the tardigrade returned from the trip can still survive and reproduce 'remains a mystery'.

Ultraviolet light contains high-energy light particles that cause serious damage to living tissue, you can clearly feel when sunburned. But more than that, ultraviolet rays can damage the genetic material of cells that cause diseases like skin cancer. Radiation in the universe is also thought to be bactericidal.

The study was conducted under the direction of K. Ingemar Jonsson of Kristianstad University, Sweden.