Click to enlarge is so last week. All the cool kids are clicking HERE to enlarge! (And then clicking the image to zoom in.)
Nature fact "Sunday" comic? And a vertical one no less! What madness is this?!
At first, it was the result of poor planning. Nature fact comics are typically easier to make and plan around. But in the end, I'm glad I chose this one, I'm happy with how it came out.
So, okay, wow. Tardigrades. I don't know when I'll ever get another opportunity to talk about them again, so I'd better go for it.
Last week, I told you about Bullsnakes and did my best to make them interesting. Don't get me wrong, I like them a lot, but save for a few clever behaviors, they're pretty unremarkable. But Tardigrades. Oh man. Oh man oh man. Where do I begin.
ANIMAL ESSAY #02 - Tardigrades, Tuns of Steel.
Tardigrades are little microscopic alien-potato-dachshund things that can slow their metabolism to less than 0.01% of what it normally is. This is known as Cryptobiosis, in which they dehydrate and turn into this thing called a 'tun', which looks a bit like a wad of old chewing gum. Thanks to this ability, some tardigrades are able to survive the following:
- 304 °F (151 °C).*
- Near absolute zero.*
- The vacuum of space.**
- Six times the water pressure present in the Mariana Trench.
- Almost a decade of dehydration.***
- Absurdly salty water.
- A thousand times the radiation needed to kill a human.
- Scientists subjecting them to a lot of insane stuff.
* For a few minutes.
** For over a week.
*** For ten years, although there is a report of one that may have survived being dried out for 120 years.
They feed on the fluid of plant and animal cells, and can be found in all sorts of places that would normally suck to live in, including polar regions, the Himalayas, and even the deep sea.
Some tardigrades are parthenogenetic, meaning they can squirt out little microscopic alien-potato-dachshund clones without the hassle of mating. With all of these traits combined, they are the perfect candidate for a low-budget movie monster.
At the end of the movie, when the human race's existence hangs by a thread, and not even the deadliest weapons in humanity's vast arsenal have made the terrifying tardigrades so much as flinch, the protagonist will save the day upon discovering the beasts' one true weakness - being smooshed by cover slips.
Sources:
If you want to learn more about these crazy buggers, check out those links above. If you want to see what they look like, just do an image search. There's tons of pictures of them. If we ever find alien life, I hope it's as interesting and weird as Tardigrades.
Next week I'll try to kick off another series, so stay tuned!
- Nolan P.
