New Scientist, UK: Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are about 1 millimeter long. They are famous for being able to withstand conditions that would kill most organisms, such as being completely dried out.
![tardigrade ,water bears](https://etvbharatimages.akamaized.net/etvbharat/prod-images/9488021_tardi.jpg)
While studying moss, Sandeep Eswarappa at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and his colleagues found what may turn out to be a new species of tardigrade. It seems to like places that are bathed in sunlight. For now, they have named it the Paramacrobiotus BLR strain.
The researchers exposed these animals to a germicidal ultraviolet lamp. A control animal, a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, died in 5 minutes, but Paramacrobiotus BLR survived for an hour. While wondering how the tardigrades might survive, they left a tube of them near a UV source and noticed the tube started glowing.