New (useless!) Research has shown how tough tardigrades can withstand anything - even a gunshot.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himA recent study showed that leathery water bears can survive anything (or almost anything) - even a bullet fired at high speed. But, after reading how the researchers discovered it, one wonders if it was really necessary to know ...
I tardigradiCommonly called water bears, they are microscopic little animals (they measure about 1 millimeter) and are known for their indestructible temper - potentially capable of withstanding even an apocalypse that would destroy mankind. But can they survive a gunshot?
This is what an absurd study conducted by the University of Kent (United Kingdom) tried to understand, looking for evidence that could support the so-called panspermia - the theory (without any scientific basis!) According to which the universe is populated by 'seeds of life' that have also populated our planet, entering our atmosphere thanks to asteroids that have fallen on the earth's surface.
(Read: Water bears, the only creatures capable of surviving (almost) any catastrophe)
To give body and foundation to the panspermic theory, the team of researchers wanted to find out if tardigrades were able to withstand even high-speed impacts. To do this, they put the animals into a kind of hibernation, in which their metabolism decreased by 0,1%, and hit them with micro-projectiles 'fired' at different speeds - faster than a classic bullet. pistol.
Here are the results: Tardigrades can survive impacts at a speed of 900 meters per second (corresponding to a pressure of 1,14 gigapascals). Unfortunately, however, many critters died during the experiment in impacts at higher speeds, and even those that survived low / medium speed impacts took a long time to recover from the collision - suggesting damage. internal from which to have to heal. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the surviving tardigrades are then able to reproduce, and scientists are also simultaneously observing whether the tardigrade eggs are able to survive after a gunshot.
Did we really need to torture these tiny animals just to find out how far their proverbial toughness could resist?
Fonte: Science
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