Can Water Bears Survive a Vacuum Chamber?

In this video I test if tardigrades can survive in a vacuum chamber

#shorts

[ogun]

"Whoa, what just happened?" "I dunno, man. Kinda weird, though."

[MarkJB]

They can indeed survive without oxygen, however this only lasts them for about 6 months I believe. They basically hibernate when they lose air and it’s pretty cool how they can survive like that.

[Phantysm]

Water Bears in the chamber be like:
Yo jerry, its that feeling from 30 million years ago

[tyjen]

I love how everyone agrees they're named John and Jerry

[insectslayer]

Nobody:
Tardigrades: _"do you really think that killing me is enough to make me die?"_

[ayPersonality]

This is the ultimate pet for people that don’t know how to take care of pets.

[RomanCashCommunity]

Guy: they've curled into a ball, but doing just fine

The tardigrades:

[Tunny]

"Mom, can i have a teddy bear?"
"No, we have bear at home"
Bear at home :

[cryztlmathew]

"They are completely fine"
Water Bear 30 years later: *gets Cancer*

[adamsiow]

Tardigrade being vacuum'd


Tardigrade: *I SLEEP*

[chriserony]

Actually answer: Tardegrades can survive in the vacuum of space, but they can only survive without food or water for 2-3 months wherein they would die out. Therefore we don't have to worry about Tardegrades colonizing the moon.

[thermitty_qxr]

They literally did the "This is fine" meme.

[leahcimolrac]

*Guy* “They’re just fine!”

*Tardigrades* “Will someone please free us from this sadistic man?”

[MisoSoup]

Tardigrades do this weird hibernation by choice thing where they can just "sleep" or rather, go unconscious whilst in conditions that could kill them. And they can stay like that for more than a dozen years...

[chairpara]

Rolling up is their way of kind of “hibernating” in rough conditions

[doratheexplorer]

Imagine after eons the water bears that crashed landed on the moon in 2019 will evolve into super intelligent sentient creatures

[ITS-HALBY]

We've all probably accidentally eaten so many of these little guys

[randomricecake]

the reason they stopped moving and rolled into a ball is because Tardigrades can go into a "tun" state which is when they dry up and look like a lifeless ball. when the environment seems to be back to normal, their bodies leave the tun state and they go back to living life. such amazing animals. they can live in a volcano for 10 years and be completely fine.

[mr.probable]

I used to have some tardigrades a few months ago. I did some small-scale research from
home (I work with NASA’s astrobiology department) since our labs were closed because of the pandemic. They’re such amazing creatures and are absolutely adorable to look at and see moving around. They’re also very durable, as you can see in this video. You demonstrated they can survive extreme pressures, which is true and known from previous experiments, so great job!

They can also survive many other extremes. As we are discussing based off of the moon, it would be good to mention they can survive in very cold temperatures. In fact, a team from Japan found that, when thawed, a 30-year old ice sample containing tardigrades not only had some of the tardigrades moving and living, but even had tardigrades eggs frozen in the ice hatching.

The way they carry out this unique ability is by entering what we call a “Tun formation”. Basically, what that means is the tardigrades condenses into a sort of rectangular shape (you can look up pictures) and decrease its metabolism drastically. It covers itself up in its cuticle, made of chitin protein primarily, and this also allow it to conserve any little materials it needs. The tardigrade initiates this state whenever it is lacking liquid water. So when it’s frozen in ice or even when it’s desiccated in the desert.

In your microscope, there is a way to see tardigrade tun state. Unfortunately though I must warn this method might kill the tardigrade on the slide when done using home equipment. You can take a few tardigrades and place them on a slide. Cover up the slide and make sure to not let the cover slip. I suggest you use a flat slide rather than concave slide also so you can hold the tardigrades in place. Position your microscope over a tardigrade in the water on your slide, focus the slide in your lens, and then leave it there right under the microscope with the focus to dry so you can observe it once it’s done. Once all the water has evaporated from around the tardigrade, usually within a few days from what I’ve seen, you can observe and see that instead of the tardigrade, you are left with this box shaped thing that’s a little bumpy. That’s the tun! You can then attempt to rehydrate the tardigrades though this might be a risky process from home. It’s very very easy in a lab but we need tools to measure amounts very accurately. In labs we also have slide drying machinery so it’s easier to do the whole process anyway.

Great video on the tardigrades, subscribed!

[bayoushaolin]

Guy: they're just fine
Tardigrades: screams of suffering