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Microscopic water bears enter cryptobiosis to withstand conditions lethal to other life. The figure is taken from Smithsonian, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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Tardigrades survive extreme vacuum radiation and freezing

Microscopic water bears enter cryptobiosis to withstand conditions lethal to other life

Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates capable of surviving environmental extremes including intense radiation, deep freezing, and the vacuum of space. When faced with desiccation, they expel almost all internal body water and contract into a dormant tun state. In this state of cryptobiosis, their metabolic activity drops to near zero until moisture returns.

Where this comes from

Smithsonian

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Tags: biology, tardigrades, extremophiles

Tardigrades survive extreme vacuum radiation and freezing: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Microscopic water bears enter cryptobiosis to withstand conditions lethal to other life. The figure is taken from Smithsonian, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a science fact?: Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.