Tardigrades with their near immortality-like powers are able to survive being drained of almost all their H 2 O because water is a key ingredient.
Researchers have found a way to survive years of extreme dehydration.
Some tardigrades can live without water for a long time.
Colloquially known as water bears, many of the 1,300 known species of tardigrade tolerate conditions that are fatal to all other life forms.
They will keep coming back for more if you boil them, freeze them, or fire them from a gun.
Tardigrades grow into a round form when they find themselves in an environment that degrades their water.
According to the University of Tokyo biologists, dehydrated tardigrades can survive exposure to the vacuum of space and still resuscitate themselves.
It's thought that as water leaves a cell, some kind ofProtein must help the cell maintain physical strength to avoid collapsing in on itself
The researchers combed through a group of tardigrades known for their dehydration abilities and found many unique suspects.
"After testing several different kinds, we have found that the tardigrades are responsible for protecting their cells against dehydration."
Using experiments in human and insect cells, the researchers were able to demonstrate that CAHS increases cell rigidity. Cells were protected against too much water pressure.
There were some interesting challenges when trying to see how CAHS behaved in insects and humans.
"Typical staining method requires solutions containing water, which obviously confounds any experiment where waterconcentration is a factor one seeks to control for." We turned to a solution made of methanol.
They were able to see CAHS in action in the lab.
When cells face the stress of water loss, the CAhs proteins act as cellular scaffolding structures.
The on-demand transition to the gel-like phase can be seen in the video above.
The structure that protects the cell against being completely distorted by the lack of water pressures is called a cytoskeleton.
The tardigrades can pick up where they left off once more hydrating conditions come back.
Scientists have suspected for a long time that there is a 'bioglass' that protects tardigrades from desiccation.
Past studies only looked for the genetic components of the ability, this new study looked for the actual components.
These eight-legged animals have been able to reach all corners of our planet thanks to these biological tricks.
Kunieda says that everything about tardigrades is interesting.
We can explore never-before-seen mechanisms and structures in the extreme range of environments some species can survive. This field is for biologists.
There may be more clues into how tardigrades manage their feats.
The research was published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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