'Water Bears' Able To Survive Exposure To Vacuum Of Space
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 08:21
in Biology & Nature
Of all environments, space must be the most hostile: It is freezing cold, close to absolute zero, there is a vacuum, so no oxygen, and the amount of lethal radiation from stars is very high. New research shows that some animals -- the so-called tardigrades or "water bears" -- are able to do away with space suits and can survive exposure to open-space vacuum, cold and radiation.