Anhydrobiosis Archives - Astrobiology

Graphical abstract -- Frontiers

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Status Report, Tardigrades

Radioprotection Redefined: Drug Discovery At The Intersection Of Tardigrade Biology And Translational Pharmacology

by Keith CowingFebruary 10, 2026February 10, 2026

Harnessing tardigrade-inspired radioprotective strategies to revolutionize defense against ionizing radiation in medicine and space exploration.

Tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris. -- Int J Mol Sci.

Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Radiation, Status Report

Antioxidant Defense in the Toughest Animals on the Earth: Its Contribution to the Extreme Resistance of Tardigrades

by Keith CowingSeptember 23, 2024September 23, 2024

Tardigrades are unique among animals in their resistance to dehydration, mainly due to anhydrobiosis and tun formation. They are also very resistant to high-energy radiation, low and high temperatures, low […]

Comparison between hydrated and anhydrobiotic Ram. varieornatus: (a-d) Confocal microscopy images with DIC (a and c) and DAPI (b and d) staining. (e-f) Statistics on body sizes and nucleus numbers. (e) Error bars indicate the standard deviation and the star indicates a significant difference (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, p = 0.048; α = 0.05). (f) Error bars indicate the standard deviation. -- PLoS

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Panspermia, Radiation, Tardigrades

A Comparative Ultrastructure Study of the Tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus In The Hydrated State, After Desiccation and During the Process of Rehydration

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2024June 9, 2024

Tardigrades can survive hostile environments such as desiccation by adopting a state of anhydrobiosis. Numerous tardigrade species have been described thus far, and recent genome and transcriptome analyses revealed that […]

AlphaFold structures of NLS-containing proteins. AlphaFold2 structures modeled from NLS-predicted proteins that had no SwissProt BLASTP hits (E-value < 1e-15). [AB] Structures for those that had a FoldSeek hit against the AlphaFold2 SwissProt database (E-value < 1E-05). The yellow and blue structures indicate the reference and the predicted H. exemplaris protein structures, respectively. [A] BV898_05254.p01 (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1E (AF-Q6VB83-F1-model_v4.pdb E-value = 6.22E-12, RMSD between 163 pruned atom pairs is 1.124 angstroms across all 353 pairs: 10.861) [B] Ecdysone-induced protein 78C (AF-P45447-F1-model_v4 E26 value 4.48E-08, RMSD between 84 pruned atom pairs is 1.044 angstroms; across all 391 pairs: 32.283) [C-F] Transcripts that had an IUPRED3 score of 1.0 [C] BV898_03773.p01, [D] BV898_07132.p01 [E] BV898_12866.p01 [F] BV898_18010.p01. -- biorxiv.org

Biophysics, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Radiation, Status Report, Tardigrades

Transcriptome Analysis Of The Tardigrade Hypsibius Exemplaris Exposed To The DNA-damaging Agent Bleomycin

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2024February 5, 2024

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that are renowned for their capabilities of tolerating near-complete desiccation by entering an ametabolic state called anhydrobiosis.

A photograph of the tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus, in the center of a phylogeny of CAHS, the largest of the six desiccation-related protein families analyzed in this study. CREDIT Kazuharu Arakawa, Keio Institute of Advanced Biosciences

Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Status Report, Tardigrades

Tardigrade Genomes Reveal The Secrets Of Extreme Survival

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2024January 22, 2024

Tardigrades may be nature’s ultimate survivors. While these tiny, nearly translucent animals are easily overlooked, they represent a diverse group that has successfully colonized freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments on […]

Hypsibius exemplaris)

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Tardigrades, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: New Live Imaging Technique Shows How Tardigrades Manage To Survive Dehydration

by Keith CowingFebruary 1, 2023February 1, 2023

Water is essential for life, but anhydrobiotic tardigrades can survive almost complete dehydration.