Case explanation
When I was in geography class in middle school, my geography teacher said that there is a creature on the earth, which is very special and has a certain probability of being an invasive alien species.
Why is it an invasive alien species?
Because in history, I have never seen a creature that is more tenacious than it, and it is not even an exaggeration to say that this creature can develop life if it is not even on other planets.
What is this creature?
Three words, tardigrades, as soon as they heard the name, it seemed that they were not very easy to deal with.
If you can see the picture of the aquatic insect, you will find that the appearance of the tardigrade, magnified a hundred times, or magnified a thousand times, is almost our most direct impression of certain appearance creatures.
What's more, this creature can be found on Earth, or in most of the world, for example, in the highlands of the Himalayas, and next to hot springs.
Point 1, what do tardigrades look like?
The tardigrade is very small, how small is it?
If you don't take it, the magnifying glass, you can't see it at all, this creature.
The length of the Mercury worm can be calculated in microns, or millimeters, and it has been found that the largest Mercury worm is only 1.4 mm, so what does it mean?
You can imagine that the smallest tardigrade, that is, about 1/10 of the centimeter, here refers to, so far, about 50 microns.
What does a tardigrade like this look like?
If you have to compare a creature, it's like the seal we see in the zoo.
There are two small forelimbs, and then pat their chest, and the water film covered by the tardigrade, looks no different from the seal.
In addition, tardigrades look a little different from other animals, which can also be understood, after all, in extreme environments, they can survive, and auxiliary equipment all over the body should be indispensable.
If you zoom in on the tardigrade, you will find that it has 8 feet on its body, and there will be different changes in different environments.
Water bears can even change their own color, whether it is to camouflage or for some special reason, and the color of the change will lead to a change.
Point 2, why is the survival limit environment of water formation very strong?
First of all, I ask you a question, if you encounter a harsh environment, what will happen to most animals?
In fact, you don't even have to think about it, most animals will go extinct, and only a small number of animals will survive.
For example, in the forest, there is a fire, some birds can fly, then fly away early, can ensure safety.
If you say that there are no flying away, or directly surrounded by fire, or animals that cannot fly, then nine times out of ten, they will not survive.
However, in this extreme environment, tardigrades have another way to survive, that is, to stop all metabolism.
In other words, tardigrades adjust their metabolism to get themselves through the survival crisis, and once they encounter a disaster, then they will enter the stealth state for the first time.
This state is very special, which means that tardigrades can survive in vacuum, high temperature, extreme cold and other environments, and once they are exposed to water again, they can obtain a second life.
So let's do the opposite, and ask another question, is there any way to get rid of tardigrades?
Of course, there are ways, but the key question is, can conventional methods eliminate tardigrades?
The answer is no, that is, we do, in the usual way, there is no way to get rid of tardigrades.
For example, so-called disinfectants, or extreme heat, or, through ultraviolet radiation, Mercury worms can still jump alive.
These do not have any deterrent power for tardigrades, and when they deal with natural crises, or extreme crises, if there are water resources around, then they will restore their metabolism and vitality as soon as possible.
Point 3, about the secrets of tardigrades.
For a long time, scientists have discussed whether tardigrades have such life characteristics or physiological characteristics.
Is it, in an extreme environment, through artificial production, to create some water resources, and then throw tardigrades into it, such as on the moon, Mars, or other planets?
All this is unknown, whether the tardigrade, in the process of survival, can be carried out, a series of biological cultivation, and biological evolution.
Even aquatic insects can eventually become, one kind of behemoth, or become, another terrifying creature.
All this is also unknown, and what makes people feel even more strange is how the tardigrade came about, and whether there is a great secret behind it.
In the future, or predictably, for a period of time, with humans, the time to explore outer space, or the universe, is getting longer and longer, the exploration ability is getting stronger and stronger, and the secrets of tardigrades will be revealed sooner or later.
Once the tardigrade is revealed, will it trigger the exploration of species by humans?
Revelation
Needless to say, special skills such as aquatic insects should be that countless creatures, even humans, will become extraordinarily red.
Imagine that if encountered, a sudden natural crisis, humans can, like tardigrades, avoid the crisis by stopping metabolism.
If one day, suddenly encountered, water resources, can be reborn again, what a huge charm, and temptation.
Water bears are almost equivalent to immortality, such a survival ability, and survival skills, for future scientific research, play a great help, the role is unimaginable.
Guys, what do you think about this?