The Water Bear's Glass Trick

As a water bear dries out, it floods its cells with special proteins that set into a kind of glass, holding every part in place until water returns. 💧

Another protein, Dsup, binds to its DNA, and in human cells in a dish it cut X-ray damage by about 40 percent.

3D models are simplified illustrations and may not be exact. "Iridescent Waves" by Tycho Magnetic Anomaly (CC BY 4.0); the water bear, cell and DNA are our own builds. Sources: Boothby et al. 2017, Molecular Cell; Hashimoto et al. 2016, Nature Communications. #tardigrade #waterbear #biology #science #shorts