Tardigrades Research Paper

The Moss Piglet Many names were given to the microscopic animal, the tardigrade. It can be referred to as a moss piglet, water bear, and even an eight-legged panda. Tardigrades can really only do one thing to impact science. They were discovered in 1773 by a pastor named Johann August Ephraim Goeze. He was looking at water under a microscope when he found a bunch of tiny eight-legged bears swimming around. He gifted them the name “il Tardigrado” which translates to “slow-stepper”. (Tardigrades return from the dead) The secret of the tardigrade is that they can shrivel up and die for a while, with the option to revive when conditions improve. Because of this, scientists call them ‘extremophiles’ (Tardigrades: Adorable Extremophiles). An extremophile is a microscopic organism who is able to survive in the most inhospitable environment

In order to prove this, a meteorite must come in contact with Earth’s surface and propel rocks back up into space. Tardigrades must go back up to space on these propelled rocks in order for the theory to be correct. Biological material would be transferred back up into space and possibly sent to another planet, or solar system. Is this how life started here on Earth? Extremophiles zooming through the universe, crashing into planets and spreading their life forms throughout has proven to be a very plausible theory to how biology started. Scientists have thought for centuries that tardigrades would influence the future of science and with further advances in technology, they were right. Tardigrades are the key into understanding how life started on Earth. These little buggers have been in the deepest ocean, on the tallest mountain, and even in outer space! Tardigrades have been battling with the struggle of existence for so long. Many tests were taken, putting the tardigrade specie in danger, and they seem to have won the fight in the