Hypsibius exemplaris Archives - Astrobiology

Images of tardigrades with mineral coatings. Each image is annotated with the sample, simulant and time of exposure in days. Before treatment: Panels A–C show example active animals from inoculums with smooth exteriors. After treatment: Panels D–G show examples of active animals with mineral particles visible as a rough, bumpy exterior (arrows point to examples). Panels H–M show inactive (presumed dead) animals with mineral particles attached. Panels H, K and M show examples of bloated animals. Scale bar is 100 microns and the same size in each image. Images without scale bars are from videos and are shown at approximately the same scale. -- International Journal of Astrobiology

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Life Support Systems, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Short-term Survival Of Tardigrades In Martian Regolith Simulants

by Keith CowingFebruary 28, 2026February 28, 2026

With future intended human missions to Mars, it is crucial to understand the potential habitability of martian regolith both to support plant growth and to mitigate accidental release of organisms […]

Anatomy of tardigrade visualized using holotomography. -- Tomography, via PubMed

Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: A Non-Invasive, Label-Free Method for Examining Tardigrade Anatomy Using Holotomography

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2026February 6, 2026

Background/Objectives: Holotomography is an advanced imaging technique that enables high-resolution, three-dimensional visualization of microscopic specimens without the need for fixation or staining.

Phylogenetic relationships of Beorn leggi and Aerobius dactylus gen. et sp. nov. A Phylogenetic result of the total evidence approach using 36 morphological characters and 1774 bp 18S rRNA sequences. Numbers at nodes represent posterior probability supports. Fossils are highlighted in red bold texts. B Artistic reconstruction of the two fossil specimens by Franz Anthony. -- Nature

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Cretaceous Amber Inclusions Illuminate The Evolutionary Origin Of Tardigrades

by Keith CowingAugust 19, 2024August 18, 2024

Tardigrades are a diverse phylum of microscopic invertebrates widely known for their extreme survival capabilities. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades diverged from other panarthropods before the Cambrian, but their fossil […]

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.

Comparison of hydrated and anhydrobiotic R. varieornatus: (a–b) SEM images. (c–d) Statistic analyses of body sizes and nucleus numbers. (c) The error bars indicate the standard deviation, and the stars indicate significant difference (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, p = 0.048; α = 0.05). (d) The error bars indicate the standard deviation. -- biorxiv.org

Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Status Report, Tardigrades

Comparative Ultrastructure Study Of Tardigrade Ramazzottius Varieornatus Hydrated State, After Desiccation, And During Rehydration

by Keith CowingMay 9, 2023May 9, 2023

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 […]