Tardigrades are microscopic eight-legged animals that are considered aquatic because they require a thin layer of water around their bodies to prevent dehydration. Tardigrades belong to an elite category of animals known as extremophiles. For instance, tardigrades can go up to 30 years without food or water. They can also live at temperatures as cold as absolute zero or above boiling, at pressures six times that of the ocean’s deepest trenches, and in the vacuum of space.

Jeffrey Mishlove and the New Thinking Allowed Foundation (jmishlove@newthinkingallowed.com)