How much DNA do we share with tardigrades?

Moment of Um

American Public Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did you know there is a microscopic animal that can live up to 30 years without food? And that can survive in the vacuum of space? They are called tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, and they are hardy creatures. How much DNA do these adaptable and almost indestructible organisms share with humans? We asked biologist Kalia Gabriel to help us find the answer.

Got a question you can’t bear anymore? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you find a tardi-great answer!

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the brains behind brains on, this is the moment of um.
0:05.0	Answering those questions that make you go on. Ah, um, um, um, um, um, um, um.
0:13.0	Uh,
0:14.0	moment, uh, uh, moment of um comes to you from DPM studios. I'm to bias the target
0:29.2	grade. Uh, um. Wow, I am cramped up.
0:35.0	I must have been out for a long time.
0:39.0	Give me one second to rehydrate.
0:41.0	H.
0:42.0	Much better. Now I should properly introduce myself. I am Tobias
0:48.9	Moss Dweller the third. I am a tardigrade, a microscopic species of animal known for our ability to survive in extreme climates.
0:59.0	We have the ability to survive in temperatures ranging from absolute zero to boiling. My father,
1:07.1	Tobias Moss Dweller Jr, even traveled to space and survived in that frigid vacuum.
1:14.0	How do we do it?
1:16.0	Well, when a place gets really hard to survive in,
1:20.0	we tardigrades dehydrate our bodies and go into a near indestructible form called a ton.
1:27.0	I myself just came out of the ton state.
1:30.0	I was totally tung conscious.
1:32.0	Sorry. I was totally tung conscious.
1:33.0	Sorry, tired of great humour, were tons of fun.
1:38.0	Just before I went under cover, I was about to do something important.
1:45.0	What was it?
1:46.0	I bet I wrote it down somewhere.
	...

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