Scientists Share Only Animal Likely To Survive The End Of The World
Scientists have shared the only animal likely to survive the end of the world.
People often wonder what would happen if Earth faced a true apocalypse. Whether it’s an asteroid strike, a nearby exploding star, or some other cosmic disaster, most experts agree that humanity would stand little chance of survival.
But according to scientists from the University of Oxford and Harvard University, there is one animal that could outlive us all, and it’s probably not one you’ve ever heard of.
Scientists wanted to know what could truly wipe out life
Back in 2017, researchers published a study examining whether life on Earth could survive some of the most extreme astrophysical disasters known to science.
Rather than focusing solely on humanity, they looked at what it would take to completely eliminate all life from the planet.
The team examined several nightmare scenarios, including giant asteroid impacts, nearby supernova explosions, and powerful gamma-ray bursts.
These events have long been viewed as potential extinction-level threats capable of devastating Earth.
“A lot of previous work has focused on ‘doomsday’ scenarios on Earth, astrophysical events like supernovae that could wipe out the human race,” explained Dr David Sloan, co-author of the study and a researcher at Oxford University.
But the scientists wanted to know something even bigger.
Could anything survive?
The answer wasn’t what researchers expected
The study found that humans would almost certainly perish in many of these scenarios.
Without technology protecting us, our species is surprisingly vulnerable to changes in temperature, radiation levels, food supplies, and environmental conditions.
But the same can’t be said for every animal on Earth.
Researchers quickly discovered that one creature stood apart from virtually everything else.
While countless species would disappear, this animal appeared capable of surviving events that would destroy most life on the planet.
In fact, scientists concluded it could potentially survive for billions of years.
The creature has some unbelievable abilities
One reason the animal caught researchers’ attention is because it already possesses some of the most extraordinary survival skills found anywhere in nature.
It can survive being frozen. It can survive being boiled. It can survive being crushed under immense pressure. It can survive intense radiation that would instantly kill humans.
And perhaps most impressively of all, it can even survive the vacuum of space.
Scientists have repeatedly tested the creature under extreme laboratory conditions, only to watch it recover from situations that should have been impossible.
It has been frozen to temperatures approaching absolute zero. It has endured scorching heat exceeding 150°C (302°F). It has survived complete dehydration and gone decades without food or water.
Yet somehow, it keeps coming back.
How does it survive?
Part of the secret lies in a remarkable process known as cryptobiosis.
When conditions become too harsh, the animal essentially shuts itself down.
It expels more than 95 percent of the water from its body and enters a dormant state where its metabolism slows almost to a complete stop.
In this suspended condition, it can wait for years — sometimes even decades — until conditions improve.
Once water becomes available again, it rehydrates and returns to life.
Scientists have described the process as being similar to pressing pause on life itself.
This ability allows the creature to survive environmental conditions that would kill almost every other known animal.
Even cosmic disasters may not stop it
To determine whether this creature could survive the apocalypse, researchers calculated what kind of event would be required to wipe it out entirely.
The answer was staggering.
According to the study, an extinction-level event would need to completely boil away Earth’s oceans.
Anything less would likely leave some populations alive.
The researchers examined asteroid impacts large enough to devastate the planet.
While such events would almost certainly wipe out humans, they concluded there are very few objects in the solar system capable of generating enough energy to destroy every last member of this species.
The team also looked at supernova explosions.
For one to completely eradicate the creature, it would need to occur less than 0.14 light-years away from Earth.
The nearest star sits around four light-years away, making such a scenario incredibly unlikely.
Gamma-ray bursts were no better.
Even these immensely powerful explosions would need to occur unusually close to Earth to have any chance of completely eliminating the species.
Scientists say it could outlive humanity by billions of years
The study concluded that life on Earth is far more resilient than many people realize.
While individual species may disappear, life itself is remarkably difficult to destroy.
“Tardigrades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth,” said Dr Rafael Alves Batista, another Oxford researcher involved in the study.
The findings have also raised intriguing questions about life elsewhere in the universe.
If creatures like this can survive such extreme conditions here on Earth, scientists believe similar organisms could potentially exist on Mars or beneath the icy surfaces of moons like Europa and Enceladus.
“It is difficult to eliminate all forms of life from a habitable planet,” explained Harvard astronomer Abraham Loeb.
The research suggests that once life begins, it may be far harder to wipe out than previously thought.
The animal most likely to survive the end of the world
So what is this seemingly indestructible creature?
It’s the tardigrade: a microscopic animal more commonly known as the water bear or moss piglet.
Measuring less than half a millimeter long, the tiny eight-legged creature can be found in moss, freshwater, oceans, soil, and countless environments across the planet.
Despite its small size, researchers believe the tardigrade is the single animal most likely to survive humanity’s worst nightmares.
According to the Oxford and Harvard study, even if an asteroid struck Earth, a nearby star exploded, or a gamma-ray burst blasted the planet, the humble water bear would probably still be here long after we’re gone.
And if scientists are correct, it may remain on Earth until the Sun itself finally burns out billions of years from now.
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