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Until recently, most scientists believed that only single-celled creatures were capable of enduring life in the hot, high-pressure zone beneath Earth's crust. Now they've discovered tiny worms (pictured above) who live as many as 2.2 miles below ground. What else will we find living deep inside the Earth? More »
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There is an organism living on this planet who can travel through space without a suit. Cute, unassuming little invertebrates, these organisms are called tardigrades, or water bears, and usually spend their days crawling around on a piece of nice wet moss in a forest, or meandering through our vast oceans. They only grow to be about 1.5 millimeters long, but over 1,000 species of them inhabit the planet, and they all have a superpower unmatched by any other species on Earth. No now knows why, but tardigrades can withstand temperatures as cold as liquid nitrogen, radiation doses that would kill a human 100 times over, thrive in an outer-space-like vacuum, and survive without water for years. More »
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