The space tardigrades have been listed Number 1 on "Top 10 Things Launched into Space in 2008" at Wired Science http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/top-10-things-l.html. The tiny tardigrades left behind such big things as the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (with a size of a double-decker bus), and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope.
We are of course very proud of this honorable award!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Monday, September 29, 2008
Space tardigrades stood the test!
At last, the first results from the TARDIS experiment have been published! Thank you all for waiting patiently during the analysing and publishing process! Many of you have probably read already about the results in news media, and I apologize for being so late with updating my blog. The main reason has been a very heavy work load from answering questions from media all over the world. Fun but time consuming.
YES, indeed many of the tardigrades survived the trip in space, and a few of them became the first animals to return alive after exposure to both space vacuum and solar radiation.
To recall our report in Current Biology, the space vacuum and cosmic radiation did not affect their survival or reproduction at all. This was true for both Richtersius coronifer and Milnesium tardigradum. What this means is that these animals can either protect their cells from expected damage of the extremely dehydration impact of space vacuum, or that they can repair damage that arise in some way. At the moment, we don’t know which is true.
Some of the samples were exposed to solar light (UV-radiation) in addition to space vacuum and cosmic radiation, and we used two different optical filters to discriminate between the combined effect of UV-A and UV-B (280-400 nm), on one hand, and effects of the full spectrum of UV, including also UV-C and Vacuum-UV (116-400 nm). Obviously, UV-radiation is difficult to handle also for tardigrades, since few animals survived these exposures.
But one of the species, Milnesium tardigradum, did better than the other, and about 12 % of those exposed to UV-A and UV-B managed to recover, although their egg production was lower than in the control animals that stayed on Earth. Also a few specimens exposed to the full UV range woke up and tried to get their bodies in shape again, but failed and died a few days later.
As almost always in science, our experiment gives rise to more questions than answers. How could these animals stand the extreme dehydration by space vacuum (at a pressure in the range of 0.00001 Pa compared to 100 000 Pa on Earth)? How could some of the tardigrades survive a dose of UV-A and UV-B of over 7000 kJ/sqm and still produce offspring? What molecular mechanisms are behind these remarkable achievements? To what extent do different wavelength of UV radiation penetrate the tardigrade cuticle? Why did one of the species better than the other? Etc, etc.....
A lot of laboratory work are now waiting to be done in order to reveal the secrets of the physiology of tardigrades. I hope that the work with sequencing of the tardigrade genome will start soon, because it will be of great help.
I am of course amazed by the results from our study. But perhaps I am even more amazed by the interest in our project from the public . Most scientific reports don't make it to the front pages of newspapers and web-sites for science news. Most reports never reach the public at all. Tardigrades are definitely special, not only in their physiology, but also in the way they catch the attention of people. Is it perhaps the contrast between the great biological achievements by these animals and the tiny body they have? Or the challenging of traditional concepts of life, for instance that "life depends on water", "life is a continuous process"? Whatever the reason, I hope that tardigrades will continue to inspire people, and make them interested in the world of biological diversity and evolution.
YES, indeed many of the tardigrades survived the trip in space, and a few of them became the first animals to return alive after exposure to both space vacuum and solar radiation.
To recall our report in Current Biology, the space vacuum and cosmic radiation did not affect their survival or reproduction at all. This was true for both Richtersius coronifer and Milnesium tardigradum. What this means is that these animals can either protect their cells from expected damage of the extremely dehydration impact of space vacuum, or that they can repair damage that arise in some way. At the moment, we don’t know which is true.
Some of the samples were exposed to solar light (UV-radiation) in addition to space vacuum and cosmic radiation, and we used two different optical filters to discriminate between the combined effect of UV-A and UV-B (280-400 nm), on one hand, and effects of the full spectrum of UV, including also UV-C and Vacuum-UV (116-400 nm). Obviously, UV-radiation is difficult to handle also for tardigrades, since few animals survived these exposures.
But one of the species, Milnesium tardigradum, did better than the other, and about 12 % of those exposed to UV-A and UV-B managed to recover, although their egg production was lower than in the control animals that stayed on Earth. Also a few specimens exposed to the full UV range woke up and tried to get their bodies in shape again, but failed and died a few days later.
As almost always in science, our experiment gives rise to more questions than answers. How could these animals stand the extreme dehydration by space vacuum (at a pressure in the range of 0.00001 Pa compared to 100 000 Pa on Earth)? How could some of the tardigrades survive a dose of UV-A and UV-B of over 7000 kJ/sqm and still produce offspring? What molecular mechanisms are behind these remarkable achievements? To what extent do different wavelength of UV radiation penetrate the tardigrade cuticle? Why did one of the species better than the other? Etc, etc.....
A lot of laboratory work are now waiting to be done in order to reveal the secrets of the physiology of tardigrades. I hope that the work with sequencing of the tardigrade genome will start soon, because it will be of great help.
I am of course amazed by the results from our study. But perhaps I am even more amazed by the interest in our project from the public . Most scientific reports don't make it to the front pages of newspapers and web-sites for science news. Most reports never reach the public at all. Tardigrades are definitely special, not only in their physiology, but also in the way they catch the attention of people. Is it perhaps the contrast between the great biological achievements by these animals and the tiny body they have? Or the challenging of traditional concepts of life, for instance that "life depends on water", "life is a continuous process"? Whatever the reason, I hope that tardigrades will continue to inspire people, and make them interested in the world of biological diversity and evolution.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tardigrades at public focus!
Although I knew that many people find tardigrades very interesting I must admit that I did not expect such an interest in the TARDIS project! Information about the TARDIS project has been broadcasted all over the world. And almost every day I get e-mails from journalists and other people interested in knowing more about the project and about tardigrades in general. So it seems that the TARDIS project has really brought this animal group into a public focus. I hope this will also lead to an increased interest in tardigrades from professional biologists. Today, there are probably less than 100 tardigrade researchers in the world.
An important step towards a greater recognition of tardigrades as potential biological model organisms was recently taken by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI, USA), when they decided that the whole genome of a tardigrade (Hypsibius dujardini) should be sequenced within the next few years. Needless to say, this will open up a wide range of possibilities to go deeper into the genetics and physiology of tardigrades, including investigations that may eventually solve the mystery of the extreme tolerances of these animals.
So there is much to look forward to if you are interested in these animals!!
The analyses of the TARDIS samples are still in progress. Please have patience!
An important step towards a greater recognition of tardigrades as potential biological model organisms was recently taken by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI, USA), when they decided that the whole genome of a tardigrade (Hypsibius dujardini) should be sequenced within the next few years. Needless to say, this will open up a wide range of possibilities to go deeper into the genetics and physiology of tardigrades, including investigations that may eventually solve the mystery of the extreme tolerances of these animals.
So there is much to look forward to if you are interested in these animals!!
The analyses of the TARDIS samples are still in progress. Please have patience!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Space tardigrades ready for analyses!
The hardware with TARDIS samples has now been returned to the Swedish laboratory. No damage could be observed so the hardware part of the experiment worked fine. The software part, i.e. the tardigrades, will now be examined, and this will take a few months. Survival of exposed and non-exposed animals will be monitored , and reproduction patterns recorded. And the analyses of damage to DNA will soon be initiated. When all these analyses are ready, we will know if these pioneer tardigrades were able to stand their trip through space.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tardigrades are back on Earth!
This morning, at 9:58 CEST (Central European Summer Time), the FOTON-M3 capsule carrying the TARDIS hardware landed as expected in Kazakhstan, near the Russian border. Apparently, everything went as planned, and I hope this goes also for the TARDIS. More about this latest news from ESA can be read at http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMFVO6H07F_index_0.html. The launch of the rocket carrying the FOTON capsule can now also be viewed at http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMVIOK5P6F_research_0.html.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
View the satellite carrying TARDIS on the web!
Today I learned that the position of the FOTON-M3 satellite can actually be viewed in real time.
So if you happens to be at a location where it passes during the night, and if the sky is clear, don't miss the opportunity to see the satellite carrying the first tardinauts in history!
LINK REMOVED.
So if you happens to be at a location where it passes during the night, and if the sky is clear, don't miss the opportunity to see the satellite carrying the first tardinauts in history!
LINK REMOVED.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Tardigrades in orbit!
Last Friday, the FOTON-M3 satelite was successfully sent into orbit, and the Biopan-6 platform was opened, exposing tardigrades of the TARDIS experiment to open space. The satelite will now orbit the earth at a 90 min. interval until 26 September, when the FOTON capsule hopefully lands in an area near the Kazakhstan-Russian border. Read more about the FOTON-M3 mission at http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQDB13J6F_index_0.html
While waiting for the tardigrades to complete their trip in space, you may want to find out some more about tardigrades. Here are some great sites on the web:
Tardigrade Newsletter
Martin Mach's Monthly Journal on Tardigrada
Goldstein Lab
Tardigrade Newsletter
Martin Mach's Monthly Journal on Tardigrada
Goldstein Lab
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