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Want to know about the hardest creature on earth - low-cost, or water bear? How much does the squabble live?

What does squirrel look like in the photo and video? About this, as well as about where low-weeks live and what the secret of their endurance, read on!

This microscopic eighthine animal is considered the most endless creature on Earth. This is really the embodiment of endurance and sustainability to various kinds of cataclysms. Thanks to its existence, perhaps, it can be argued that life on Earth is a rather stable phenomenon. What can you withstand these mysterious creatures? Huge radiation, much higher than the deadly dose for a person, an incredible pressure for animals, conditions of almost complete vacuum, cosmic radiation. In general, almost everything that can dreamed in the very nightly snow! They are ready for any adversity.

Safety or small water bear?

Skirts (lat. Tardigrada) received such a name in 1777 from the Italian scientist Ladzaro Spallazeni most likely because of its slow movement. And indeed, slower moves very slowly: 2-3 millimeters per minute. For the first time, this invertebrates described the German Pastor I. A. Götse in 1773, giving him the name Kleiner Wasserbär, which can be translated from German as a small water bear. Obviously, I. A. Götse drew attention to rounded shapes, general form and a characteristic Manera movement, something resembling a bear.

Since then, when mentioning low-weeks, both names may appear. Despite its modest size, which ranges from 0.1 to 1.5 mm, this is a fairly developed animal having a nervous, sexual (diverse), digestive and separation system. Blood and breathing is absent. Due to its extraordinary endurance, low-weeks can dwell in almost any places globe. Both under water and on land. You can detect them both at the bottom of the ocean and in the mountains. There are species that feed on nematodes, corporates and them like. But the majority feeds on algae and moss liquids on which they are found. By and large, these are aquatic animals, i.e. For their normal existence, moisture is required. However B. sea water they live only 10% of overall And quite a bit - in fresh reservoirs. The main number prefers moss and lichens, where they accumulates to a few thousand per grams of dry moss.

Despite its modest size, which ranges from 0.1 to 1.5 mm, this is a fairly developed animal having a nervous, sexual (separating), digestive and excretory system. Blood and breathing is absent.

The translucent body is covered with chitin. Which, as it should be all who has it, is dropped from time to time and updated. Color depending on the habitat varies widely.

Due to its extraordinary endurance, low-weeks can dwell in almost any places of the globe. Both under water and on land. You can detect them both at the bottom of the ocean and in the mountains. There are species that feed on nematodes, corporates and them like. But the majority feeds on algae and moss liquids on which they are found. By and large, these are aquatic animals, i.e. For their normal existence, moisture is required. However, in seawater, they live only 10% of the total number and quite a bit - in fresh reservoirs. The main number prefers moss and lichens, where they accumulates to a few thousand per grams of dry moss.

Fantastic endurance

The uniqueness of this little water bear, of course, in his extraordinary endurance. Here are just officially registered facts confirming that this is really the most endless creature on Earth:

Revival after anabiosis, or how many sluggirls live

The maximum time of staying squabbles in Anabiosis, which was managed to register, - 120 years! And at least after a 120-tireteral hibernation, there was no one to survive to survive, it was revealed that after 20 years of the anabiosis of low-rods survive and give normal offspring.

Survival in conditions:

- Stay in liquid oxygen for 20 months at a temperature of -193 ° C,
- Eight-hour cooling with liquid helium to -271 ° C.
- heating up to 100 ° C for an hour,
- heating from 60 ° C to 65 ° C for 10 hours.
- under vacuum conditions and space radiation with additional irradiation with ultraviolet A and B (280-400 nm).
- Staying in organic solvents and toxic gases.

Thus, in these conditions, the survival rate of the slug is incomparably higher than the usual survival of all other living beings on Earth.

What is the secret of low-cost?

While the philosophers are asked by the question, from where and why on Earth such a resilient animal, scientists are trying to study it and classify. So, at the University of Tokyo, in search of the causes of the shorters spent full decoding nuclear DNA. It was studied one of the most resistant to exposure. unfavorable environment Ramazzottius Varieornatus squabbles.

According to the Nature Communications magazine, published the results of scientists, only 1.2% of the genome are borrowed by the method of horizontal transfer from other living beings. 43.9% are unique or little similar to the rest known to the science of the genome. 52.5% is very similar or similar to the genome of other known animals.

It turned out that the gentlego gene is protected by special unique and not previously famous science protein, which significantly stabilizes DNA. This protein received the DSUP operating name (DamagesUppressor). In experiments with human cells, their resistance to radiation during the input of the protein has increased more than twice. Also discovered whole line Others protective mechanismsobserved only in low-weeks.

The germination gene contains much more protective genes than the genome of any other creature known on earth. So, there are 16 enzymes of the Superoxiddismutaz family, which are neutralized by AFC, whereas most animals are not more than 10. In addition, the Ramazzottius VarieOornatus (the most resistant to the survival of the squabble) was found four copies of the MRE11 gene, the function of which is the restoration of dNA double-stranded gaps . Typically, animals have only one such copy.

Another statement of scientists who say that low-weeks are lacking genes that are responsible for the usual reaction of the body for not favorable conditions. Mechanisms of motion of cells with a lack of water or food simply do not start.

Skirt. VIDEO

Safety, a small invertebrate length of about a millimeter, of course, is not a cat and not a dog, and not even an ant, but also for her there was 15 minutes of Internet glory. The wines of everything its original appearance (under a microscope, of course) - something average between stying and six-loving from the fairy tale A. Volkov "Seven underground kings" and a dust collector from the vacuum cleaner.

Slowers are also called the "Little Water Bear". Microscopic catering-like eight-liter bears are very common on Earth, but their kind would cause horror, be a little more.

This is how low-gooshka looks like. No photozabe need.

It seems that this slower is aware that it takes pictures.

The body in low-weeks has a size of 0.1-1.5 mm, translucent, of four segments and heads. Equipped with 4 pairs of short and thick legs with 4-8 long bristle-shaped claws at the end, and the last pair of legs is directed back. Shooters move really very slowly - at a speed of only 2-3 mm per minute. The oral organs are a pair of acute stallers serving to puncture the shells of algae cells and moss that are fed. Slowers have digestive, excretory, nervous and sexual system; However, they have no respiratory and blood Systems - Skin breathing, and the role of blood filling the body fluid. Systematic position Skirts Discussion. Most authors bring them closer with real arthropods (EurArthropoda). In addition, they can bring them closer either with nematodes or with ringed worms.

Currently, more than 900 types of low-weeks are known (in Russia - 120 species. Because of microscopic sizes and the ability to transfer adverse conditions, they are common, from Himalayas (up to 6000 m) to sea depths (below 4000 m). Skirts were in hot springs , under ice (for example, on Svalbard) and at the bottom of the ocean. They are distributed passive - wind, water, various animals. All lowers to some extent are water animals. Approximately 10% - marine lifeOthers are found in freshwater reservoirs, however, most inhabit moss and lichen pillows on earth, trees, rocks and stone walls. The amount of squabbles in the moss can be very large - hundreds, even thousands of individuals in 1 g of dried moss.

Pets feed on liquids of plants and algae on which they dwell. Some species eat small animals - travelers, nematodes, other squabbles. In turn, serve as prey for ticks and inheritance.

Skirts attracted the attention of the first researchers with their amazing endurance. Upon the occurrence of adverse conditions, they are capable of falling into an anabiosis; And at the occurrence of favorable conditions, it is fairly quick to revive. Survive lowers mainly due to the T.N. Anhydrobiosis, drying. When drying, they are drawn into the body of the limbs, decrease in volume and take the shape of a barrel. The surface is covered with a wax shell that prevents evaporation. With anabiosis, their metabolism drops to 0.01%, and the water content is capable of reaching up to 1% of the normal.

In the state of the anabiosa, low-cost incredible loads.

• Temperature. Constore stay for 20 months. in liquid air at -193 ° C, eight-hour cooling with liquid helium to -271 ° C; Heating up to 60-65 ° C for 10 hours and to 100 ° C for an hour.
• Ionizing radiation In 570,000, X-ray kills about 50% of irradiated squabbles. For a person, the deadly dose of radiation is only 500 x-rays.
• The atmosphere: came to know after the half-hour stay in vacuum. For quite a long time, there may be in the atmosphere of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide.
• Pressure: With the experiment of Japanese biophysicists of "Sleeping" low-weeks placed in hermetic plastic container and immersed it in the water filled with water high pressure, gradually bringing it to 600 MPa (approx. 6000 atmospheres), which is almost 6 times higher than the level of pressure at the lowest point Mariana Vpadina. In this case, it does not matter that the liquid is filled with a container: with water or non-toxic weak solvent perfluorocarbon C8F18, - survival results coincided.
• Open space: When experimenting with Swedish scientists, low-weeks Richtersius Coronifer species and Milnesium Tardigradum were divided into three groups. One of them, upon arrival in orbit, turned out to be under vacuum conditions and was exposed to cosmic radiation. Another group, in addition, was also exposed to ultraviolet A and B (280-400 nm). The third group of animals experienced the impact of the full spectrum of ultraviolet (116-400 nm). All slumbers were in the anabiosis state. After 10 days spent in open space, almost all organisms were drained, but on board the Space Apparatus, low-weeks returned to a normal state. Most animals subjected to irradiation with ultraviolet with a wavelength of 280-400 nm survived and were capable of reproduction. but ultraviolet irradiation It had a critical impact, only 12% of the animals of the second group survived, they all belonged to the form Milnesium Tardigradum. Nevertheless, the survivors were able to give normal offspring, although their fecundity was lower than that of the control group, which was on Earth. All animals from the third group died a few days after returning to Earth.
• Humidity: The case is known when a moss taken from the desert, after about 120 years after its drainage, was placed in the water, which were in no lowers came to life and were capable of reproduction.

Safety in Anabiosome

Photoshab

The poor animal, however, mercilessly "frustrated," mocking over external noncains.

Fan art

Little monsters so loved to people that those began to make dolls in the form of silent, create games with their participation, typing on T-shirts and use as logos.

And what stands only the tattoo on the leg - for a quiet turn, not otherwise.

Skirts are one of the most endless creatures on our planet. They survive up to ten years without water, capable of survive at -271 ° C in liquid helium and at + 100 ° C in boiling water, withstand 1000 times a large dose of radiation than a person, and even visited open space!

Slowing (lat. Tardigrada) - type of microscopic invertebrates close to arthropod. For the first time this animal was described in 1773 by the German pastor I. A. Götse, as Kleiner Wasserbär (small water bear). In 1777, the Italian scholar Ladzaro Spallazeni gave them the name Il Tardigrado, squabbles, a latinized form of which is the name Tardigrada (since 1840).

The body in low-weeks has a size of 0.1-1.5 mm, translucent, of four segments and heads. Equipped with 4 pairs of short and thick legs with 4-8 long bristle-shaped claws at the end, and the last pair of legs is directed back. Shooters move really very slowly - at a speed of only 2-3 mm per minute. The oral organs are a pair of acute stallers serving to puncture the shells of algae cells and moss that are fed. Slowers have digestive, excretory, nervous and sexual system; However, they do not have respiratory and blood systems - skin breath, and the role of blood flows the body fluid.

Currently, more than 900 seeding types are known (in Russia - 120 species.). Due to microscopic sizes and the ability to endure adverse conditions, they are common, from Himalayas (up to 6000 m) to sea depths (below 4000 m). Slowers were found in hot springs, under ice (for example, on Spitsbergen) and at the bottom of the ocean. They are distributed passively - wind, water, various animals.

All low-sews to some extent are water animals. Approximately 10% - marine inhabitants, others are found in freshwater reservoirs, but most inhabit the moss and lichen pillows on earth, trees, rocks and stone walls. The amount of squabbles in the moss can be very large - hundreds, even thousands of individuals in 1 g of dried moss. Pets feed on liquids of plants and algae on which they dwell. Some species eat small animals - travelers, nematodes, other squabbles. In turn, serve as prey for ticks and inheritance.

Skirts attracted the attention of the first researchers with their amazing endurance. Upon the occurrence of adverse conditions, they are capable of falling into an anabiosis; And at the occurrence of favorable conditions, it is fairly quick to revive. Survive lowers mainly due to the T.N. Anhydrobiosis, drying. When drying, they are drawn into the body of the limbs, decrease in volume and take the shape of a barrel. The surface is covered with a wax shell that prevents evaporation. With anabiosis, their metabolism drops to 0.01%, and the water content is capable of reaching up to 1% of the normal.

In the state of the anabiosa, low-cost incredible loads.

Constore stay for 20 months. in liquid air at -193 ° C, eight-hour cooling with liquid helium to -271 ° C; Heating up to 60-65 ° C for 10 hours and to 100 ° C for an hour.
Ionizing radiation in 570,000 x-ray kills about 50% of the irradiated squabbles. For a person, the deadly dose of radiation is only 500 x-rays.
Room came after a half-hour stay in vacuo. For quite a long time, there may be in the atmosphere of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide.
With the experiment of Japanese biophysicists of "sleeping" low-weeks placed in a hermetic plastic container and immersed it in the high pressure chamber filled with water, gradually bringing it to 600 MPa (approx. 6000 atmospheres), which is almost 6 times higher than the level of pressure at the lowest point of the Mariana depression . In this case, it does not matter that the liquid is filled with a container: with water or non-toxic weak solvent perfluorocarbon C8F18, - survival results coincided.
EXPERIMENTS IN ORBITS showed that squabbles - tiny arthropods ranging in size from 0.1 to 1.5 millimeters - capable of surviving in open space. In his work, the results of which were published in the journal Current Biology, biologists from several countries have shown that some low-sequers are able to completely restore their life functions and produce viable offspring.

A group of biologists, the leading of which was Ingaemar Johnsson (Ingemar Jonsson) from the University of Christianstad, sent two types of slumbers to the orbit of the Earth - Richtersius Coronifer and Milnesium Tardigradum. Clavistonodii spent on board the Russian unmanned vehicle "Photon-M3" 10 days. In total, 120 low-weeks visited the space, 60 individuals of each species. During the flight, one group of arthropods, which includes both types, was in a vacuum (the flap was opened, separating the chamber with slumbers from open Cosmosa), however, was protected from solar radiation Special screen. Two more groups of low-weeks spent 10 days in vacuo and exposed to ultraviolet A (wavelength 400 - 315 nanometers) or ultraviolet in (wavelength 315 - 280 nanometers). The last group of arthropods experienced all the "features" of outer space.

All slumbers were in the anabiosis state. After 10 days spent in open space, almost all organisms were drained, but on board the Space Apparatus, low-weeks returned to a normal state. Most animals exposed to ultraviolet with a wavelength of 280 - 400 nm survived and were capable of reproduction. Oracle R. Coronifer could not survive a full range of impacts (low temperature, vacuum, ultraviolet A and B), only 12% of animals of this group survived, they all belonged to Milnesium Tardigradum. Nevertheless, the survivors were able to give normal offspring, although their fecundity was lower than that of the control group, which was on Earth.

In nature exists unique creationwho received the nickname "Water Bear". Little to the famous (for the elimination of zoologists and specialists in space), knowledgeable people It is striking and its external species, and your vitality. The initial name of the creature was obtained for an obvious similarity with candy or teddy Mishka. True, he has six legs, and "the face" is pretty nice, but otherwise it is clearly traced. A "water" bear because it is the inhabitant of this environment and without moisture to live (in the literal sense of the word) cannot.

History opening

There is reason to assume that water bears-lowers were precisely those creatures whom he saw the Creator of the Van Levonguk microscope back in 1702. However, the first official discovery of these unicorms is 1773, when they were described by the German pastor Götse. Distributed by their appearance, he gave them the name Kleiner Wasserbär, which translates from German as a water bear. In more detail, microscopic beings were studied and described by an Italian-biologist Ladzaro Spallazeni, and it happened in 1776. Because of the extremely slow mobility of animals, he called them Il Tardigrado, as a result of which official scientific name He became the term Tardigrada, that is, low-cost.

Structure of water bear

The first thing that should be noted when the squabble is studied - the size of the animal. The varieties of marine bears are about 960, and the magnitude of their body varies from 0.1 to one and a half years. Even the largest person to consider without a microscope is very difficult. Slowers are included in the class of invertebrates, have a glassy, \u200b\u200ba translucent body, visually broken into the 4 segments with harshs. Due to the presence of chitine shell and periodic molting of a water bear, sometimes compared with insects. Most varieties have four pairs of limbs, but one of the smallest "rocks", the length of everything in the tenth share of a millimeter, is an exception: this is a six-headed slug. Each paw ends with curls in the amount of 4-6 pieces. The last pair of legs is focused back.

The "face" of the creature is very unusual and resembles a dust collector on the vacuum cleaner. The mouth is equipped with a kind of stilts that water bear pierces the membrane. These animals have nervous, digestive, sex and nervous SystemsHowever, there are no blood and respiratory. Instead of blood, the cavity of the whole body occupies a special fluid, and the breath of slurry skin. They have additional in the form of a pair of appendages, and, oddly enough, eyes, which are pigment spots on the body in front, but not on the wrong place that can be called head conditionally.

Water bear has a color depending on the habitat. The shade may be in the orange colors - scarlet or olive - dark green.

Safety of diverse, but males are significantly rarer than ladies, therefore multiple cases of parthenogenesis (reproduction in the absence of fertilization) are fixed.

Skirts are common worldwide from the tropics to the polar circle. However, if they can choose, prefer wet lichens and mosses. The spread of a water bear is passive: the peasants are moved due to the flow of water or wind, and are also transferred to birds and animal fur.

Features of nutrition

Unbound creature

Most of all the water bear was interested in scientists with his vitality. These creatures are able to maintain their life and the ability to reproduce in the wide range of temperatures - from (-273 degrees) to the unbearable heat in +150. They survive in an aggressive medium, for example, in a hydrogen sulfide atmosphere. Radiation, too, for them is not an irresistible barrier for survival: after irradiation of it at a dose of 570 thousand, the x-ray of water bears remained alive. For reference: fatal for humans is the radiation of "total" in 500 x-rays. Moreover, the surviving low-weeks could still give (and gave) offspring.

Space stability

Most of all the scientific community interested in the ability of Tardigrada to resist the conditions of space. In 2008 research Group Heading the Swede-Ecologist Ingmar Jonsson sent an experimental batch of slumbers in orbit. One group was placed in a vacuum, the second at the same time was irradiated with radiation, two were subjected to intensive processing of ultraviolet. The tests in open space stayed 10 days and almost stolen turned out to be desired. However, upon returning to more favorable conditions most of Microscopic creatures returned to life, retaining the ability to reproduce.

The basis of survival

The ability due to which the water bear can carry so wide spectrum Adverse conditions - the ability to fall in anabiosis through the controlled anhydrobiosis. In other words, slower dries itself, leaving in his body a negligible amount of water. In order not to lose them, the low-cost forming a kind of wax shell on the surface of the body. In the dried form, additional protective functions are activated at the lowers: the sugar molecules prevent the expansion of cells, the production of antioxidants, which oppose radiation and prohibit the destruction of DNA. Under admission to B. environment WATER The body of the sluggirls starts to absorb it, and all life functions are restored.

Natural Water Bear Enemies

Despite all the vitality, the water bear is by no means immortal. Successfully counteracting unfavorable external factorHe is pretty helpless against predators who do not mind to eat them. In addition to their own relatives, low-tickets are subjected to attacks of travelers, ticks, insens, round and larvae of various insects and river Rakov. Part of the sluggers die, becoming the extraction of gifs intertwined in the hinges, in which, as in a trap, the water bear is stuck, after which the mushroom threads are growing into it. In addition, there are mushrooms, whose disputes are attractive to low-boosters in the food plane. However, hitting the intestinal of a water bear, spores germinate using an animal as a nutrient medium.

Slowers are probably the only animals that can survive on earth with any situation. They will survive any long drought, the lowest and high temperatures, will withstand a large dose of radiation and return alive and unharmed from open space. No other living creature is not under power.

These tiny creatures are distributed almost all over the world. They are found both in the tropics and in polar countries. Can live both under ice and in hot springs, both in the mountains at an altitude of 6000 meters and in dark sea depths below 4000 meters. But the most beloved of their habitat are moss and lichens, and if more precisely, drip moisture accumulated on them.

There are about 900 species of low-weeks in the world. About 90% of them belong to terrestrial species, and only 10% are marine inhabitants.

Sea squabbles

The world found out about these creatures thanks to the German Pastor I.A. Getz in 1773. Due to the fact that low-weeks prefer a wet habitat, he called them "small water bears." 4 years they wore this name until in 1777, the Italian scientist Ladzaro Spallantsani did not name them with "low-weeks". And correctly did. They really move very slowly - no more than 2-3 mm per minute. Although this is one reason - their microscopic sizes.

The bodies of low-cost, depending on the type, has a length from 0.1 to 1.5 mm. Looking at them under the microscope, you can see the following picture: a small practically transparent body, consisting of 4 segments, heads and 4 pairs of short and thick feet, decorated with long bristle-shaped curls. The last pair of legs is directed back.

Shchetnekovoid claws

Even these microscopic invertebrate animals have their own digestive, nervous, excretory and sex system, but the bloodstream and respiratory system No missing. They breathe through the skin, and blood replaces the fluid.

Their skin is a very thin and transparent chitinized cuticle, sometimes grainy, sometimes in the form of shields.

At the end of the head are located oral cavity With a pair of chitinic stallows and a narrow throat having a sucking extension. With the help of stylebits, the animal pierces the shell and then sucks chlorophyllon cells of moss and lichen, on which it lives. These are vegetative squabbles, but there are also predators that suck the contents of nematodes, travmatics and squabbles of other species in the same way.

Surprisingly, low-weeks have "eyes" - a pair of pigment spots in the front of the body. Another organ of touch is a pair of sensitive appendages.

Picoor's mouth bodies

Silk seasy. The males are far less likely to females and inferior to them in size. The genitals in those and others go into a clock expansion. Fertilization can be both internal when the male introduces cum into the female clock and external when he postpones her on the finished laying of eggs.

Eggs sluggirls

Some species leave their masonry in very an unusual place - In the skirt dropped when molting. Others did not stand out in this regard and lay their eggs into the soil, moss or water. The hatched squabble appearance differs from parents only slightly smaller sizes.

Eggs in a dropped skin

Skirts became famous for the whole world with their unrealistic ability to survive at the most adverse conditions. First of all, it concerns a long drought. When the "house" is drying, they are able to slow all their life processes for a long time.

This becomes possible due to the so-called. "Summage". All her bodies begin to dry, decreases in size and becomes similar to the barrel, which is then covered with a special wax shell that prevents the evaporation of insignificant moisture residues. In such a state, they can exist until 2 years. But there is only this "barrels" to get into a wet environment, as after a while they are spreading and come to life.

Safety in analia

In this state of the anabea, they are able to transfer not only prolonged droughts, but also colossal low temperatures, for example, up to -193 s ° (in liquid nitrogen) or up to -271 s ° (in liquid helium), etc. They also do not harm the powerful doses of radiation, vacuum, pressure and even stay in open space.

Here, such a unique being lives with us in the neighborhood, and we even do not recognize about it.