Tardigrades!

Tardigrade is the

• strongest animal on Earth

• toughest animal on Earth

• weakest animal on Earth

How much time can a human survive without water?

• 30 hrs

• 1 day

• 100 hrs

• 30 days

How much can a tardigrade survive without water?

• 100 days

• 1000 hrs

• decades

• centuries

Tardigrades can survive

• in extremely hot temperatures

• in extremely low temperatures

• high levels of radiation

• all of the above

Where are tardigrades normally found?

• Forests

• Deserts

• Ponds

• Every continent and in diverse biomes

Apart from tardigrades, which other species can survive anhydrobiosis (=life without water)? Tick more than one if applicable.

• bears

• bacteria

• humans

• single-celled organisms called archaea

• plants

When a tardigrade dries out what does it do?

• Curls up into a ball like structure known as a ‘tun’

• Extends its legs and goes rigid

• Nothing, they just stop moving

• Flatten themselves out

How is it thought that tardigrades protect their cellular components when they dry out?

• They do not have to; their cellular components are just tougher than normal

• They produce molecules that form a protective matrix within their cells

• They do not protect their cellular components at all; instead they repair the damage after they are rehydrated

• The do not protect their cellular components; instead they make new undamaged components once they are rehydrated

How many species of tardigrades have been discovered?

• 1

• About 100

• About 15.000

• About 1.200

What kind of real world applications do scientists hope to develop by studying tardigrades? (Tick more than one - if necessary)

• Methods for stabilizing sensitive biomedical materials, like vaccines

• Generate stress tolerant crops that can cope with Earth's changing climate

• Solve the problem of water shortages in different parts of the world

• How to safeguard astronauts