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Biology/what are the most resistant organisms known to science?

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Expert: - 8/11/2010


Question
Please try to ignore spelling mistakes,because i don't know english very well.

What is the most resistant organism to any extreme environment known to science? and what are the most resistant organisms: to heat? to cold? to radiation? to dryness? to vacuum? to pressure? to acidity? to salinity? to sweetness? to gravitation? and to food shortage? at long and short time periods inside the extreme living environments? and how can they survive under these kind of extreme environments?

Answer
Dear Omri,

If you are looking for a single type of organism that fits all those descriptions, it would probably be the Tardigrades (a.k.a. "water bears"), which are so resilient that they can withstand being desiccated to almost 100% lack of water, live in a vaccuum, etc.

You can learn more about them here:

http://www.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/tardigrade_facts.html

Hope that helps get you started.

Dana

Biology

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Dana Krempels, Ph.D.

Expertise

I can answer biology-related questions in the areas of evolution, zoology, botany, genetics, and ecology. But I don't answer homework questions or provide ideas for your science fair projects. So students please do your learning the right way by reading your text assignments and studying!

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At the University of Miami, I teach Evolution and Biodiversity, Botany, Zoology, Genetics, Ecology, and a variety of seminars (e.g., the Biology and Evolution of Human Gender Roles).

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I have a B.S. in Biology and an A.B. in English from the University of Southern California (1980). I earned my Ph.D. in Biology in the area of evolutionary biology/visual physiology from the University of Miami in 1989.

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I am currently an "expert" in both the "Rabbits" and "Wild Animals" categories.

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