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Tardigrades reveal extreme heat-blocking survival trick while in tun state

Phys · 🇮🇳 public India · · 679 words · By Ingrid Fadelli
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What to know about Tardigrades reveal extreme heat-blocking survival trick while in tun state

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science studied how the tardigrade species Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain survives extreme heat. The study suggests that the animals' 'tun' state reduces thermal conductivity, protecting internal cellular structures from heat damage.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

May 29, 2026 feature Tardigrades reveal extreme heat-blocking survival trick while in tun state Ingrid Fadelli Author Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are tiny eight-legged…

Why it matters

This resistance to extreme conditions, including intense heat, very high or low temperatures, radiation and low oxygen levels is called "extremotolerance." A biological process that allows tardigrades to survive in extreme environments is anhydrobiosis.

Common ground

This is a reversible process via which the animals lose most of their body water and their metabolism temporarily stops, which in turn allows them to survive in dry environments.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science studied how the tardigrade species Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain survives extreme heat. The study suggests that the animals' 'tun' state reduces thermal conductivity, protecting internal cellular structures from heat damage.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tardigrades-reveal-extreme-blocking-survival.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5
check_circle Corroborated 4
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
info
Claim 1: “Instead, 90% of tardigrades in the tun state survived under the same conditions, and some of them were still alive after one hour at 85°C.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific survival rate (90%) and the survival at 85°C are specific findings of the IISc study reported in the news source. The Wikipedia results provided for this claim are irrelevant.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A eurytherm is an organism, often an endotherm, that can function at a wide range of ambient temperatures. To be considered a eurytherm, all stages of an organism's life cycle must be considered, inc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurytherm
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person. A taxon (e.g., species or genus; plural: taxa) named in honor of another entity is an eponymous taxon, and nam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_organisms_named_after_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tardigrades ( ), also known as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
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Claim 2: “A biological process that allows tardigrades to survive in extreme environments is anhydrobiosis.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent educational and scientific sources confirm that anhydrobiosis is the process tardigrades use to survive extreme environments.
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web search NEUTRAL — Stuck in the water drop, what does an aquatic creature do? Well, tardigrades dry up too, right along with the water. They wrinkle up and go into a deep lifeless sleep, in a survival trick called anhyd…
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/tardigrade-anhydrobiosis
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web search NEUTRAL — Tardigrades use anhydrobiosis to survive environmental stresses, including extreme temperatures and desiccation.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/videos/tardigrades-and-anhyd…
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web search NEUTRAL — A biological process that allows tardigrades to survive in extreme environments is anhydrobiosis.To investigate the processes via which tardigrades Paramacrobiotus sp. survive while in the tun state, …
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tardigrades-reveal-extreme-blo…
info
Claim 3: “Eswarappa and his colleagues found that active tardigrades did not survive high temperatures for one hour, even the lowest experimental temperature of 45°C.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific result that active tardigrades did not survive 45°C for one hour is part of the report on the IISc study. The Wikipedia results provided for this claim are irrelevant (referring to 'Active Directory' or 'Active matrix').
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Active may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. Windows Server operating systems include it as a set of processes and services. Originally, only centra…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Directory
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Active matrix is a type of addressing scheme used in flat panel displays. It is a method of switching individual elements of a flat panel display, known as pixels. Each pixel is attached to a transist…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_matrix
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Claim 4: “the researchers found that tardigrades in the tun state exhibited a higher thermal resistance and a reduced flow of heat through their bodies.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 5: “When tardigrades undergo this process, they curl up and enter what is known as a "tun" state.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the 'tun' state is mentioned in the context of the specific study, the provided evidence for claim 4 specifically (Wikipedia, Treehugger, etc.) describes general tardigrade traits but does not explicitly describe the 'curling up' action as the definition of the tun state in those specific snippets. However, the study in claim 5/6 refers to it. Based on the provided snippets for claim 4, there isn't strong multi-source corroboration of the 'curling' action specifically, though the 'tun' state is a known biological fact.
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web search NEUTRAL — Tardigrade anatomy [3] Tardigrades have a short plump body with four pairs of hollow unjointed legs. Most range from 0.05 to 0.5 mm (0.002 to 0.02 in) in length, although the largest species may reach…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 31, 2024 · Tardigrades are microscopic animals known for being incredibly tough, able to endure extreme heat, cold, and even going without water for years.
https://www.treehugger.com/tardigrade-facts-5075769
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 12, 2024 · Discover interesting facts about tardigrades — near-microscopic animals that can survive freezing temperatures, crushing pressures and even the vacuum of space.
https://www.livescience.com/57985-tardigrade-facts.html
info
Claim 6: “Their findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, suggest that reductions in thermal conductivity are central to the survival of this species at high temperatures and under extreme heat.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific finding regarding 'reductions in thermal conductivity' and the publication in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface is mentioned in one primary news source. Other sources mention the study but not the specific mechanism in the snippets provided.
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web search NEUTRAL — Journal information: Journal of the Royal Society Interface.Tardigrades in the tun state exhibit significantly reduced thermal conductivity, enabling survival at extreme temperatures up to 85°C, unlik…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tardigrades-reveal-extreme-blo…
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web search NEUTRAL — Its rise has mirrored an increasing in... journals.sagepub.com.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0149206316678451
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web search NEUTRAL — About our journals. The Royal Society of Chemistry publishes 57 peer-reviewed journals that cover the core chemical sciences including related fields such as biology, biophysics, energy and environmen…
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/journals
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Claim 7: “Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding how a species of tardigrade—called Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain—survives extreme heat while in the tun state.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web results (dated 2026) confirm that researchers at the Indian Institute of Science studied the Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain's survival in the tun state.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Axiom Mission 4 (Ax‑4) was a private crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA. The mission launched atop a SpaceX Falcon …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiom_Mission_4
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science recently carried out ... BLR strain—survives extreme heat while in the tun state. Their ...
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tardigrades-reveal-extreme-blo…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2026 ... ... tun' state. While active ... Figure 1. Inducible thermotolerance in Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain tardigrades. View largeDownload slide.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article/23/238/20251…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 8: “This resistance to extreme conditions, including intense heat, very high or low temperatures, radiation and low oxygen levels is called "extremotolerance."”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a specialized research group and a news report, use the term 'extremotolerance' to describe the resistance to heat, cold, radiation, and low oxygen.
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web search NEUTRAL — Radioresistant: organisms resistant to high levels of ionizing radiation, most commonly ultraviolet radiation. This category also includes organisms capable of resisting nuclear radiation, notably gam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile
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web search NEUTRAL — This resistance to extreme conditions, including intense heat, very high or low temperatures, radiation and low oxygen levels is called "extremotolerance."
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tardigrades-reveal-extreme-blo…
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web search NEUTRAL — In this state of suspended animation, tardigrades are known for their extremotolerance, including extreme heat and cold (-273˚C to 100˚C), extreme pressure (vacuum to 7.5GPa), and ionizing radiation (…
https://www.excells.orion.ac.jp/en/research-group/extremotol…
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Claim 9: “Harikumar R. Suma et al, Thermal conductivity modulation as a mechanism of inducible thermotolerance in the eutardigrade Paramacrobiotus sp., Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2026). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2025.1033”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “This is a reversible process via which the animals lose most of their body water and their metabolism temporarily stops”
CORROBORATED
Multiple scientific sources define anhydrobiosis as a reversible state involving the loss of body water and the cessation of metabolism (ametabolism).
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web search NEUTRAL — Molecules involved in anhydrobiosis. The removal of intracellular water causes. drastic changes in inter- and intra-molecular. interactions. Upon drying, intracellular proteins and. membranes compensa…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26488922_Anhydrobio…
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web search NEUTRAL — What is anhydrobiosis? Anhydrobiosis means ‘life without water’ and refers to the remarkable ability of some organisms to survive the loss of all, or almost all, water and enter into a state of suspen…
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(15)01158…
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web search NEUTRAL — Anhydrobiosis is the ability of selected organisms to lose almost all water and enter a state of reversible ametabolism. Such an organism dries up to a state of equilibrium with dry air. Unless specia…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8874559/
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Claim 11: “They placed active tardigrades and tardigrades in the tun state in small PCR tubes at extreme temperatures ranging from 45°C to 85°C, for a period of one hour.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific experimental parameters (PCR tubes, 45°C to 85°C, one hour) are detailed in the news report about the IISc study. Other provided evidence (Wikipedia) describes the institution but not the experiment.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public deemed research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institute_of_Science
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research or IISERs (pronunciation: "EYE-sir") are a group of autonomous institutions established by the Government of India through the Ministry of Education…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Science_E…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a public research university headquartered in Kolkata, India with centers in Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Tezpur. It was declared an Institute of Nationa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Statistical_Institute
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 12: “Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are tiny eight-legged animals that can survive in extreme environments”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm that tardigrades are eight-legged animals also known as water bears or moss piglets that survive extreme environments.
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web search NEUTRAL — Tardigrades are usually about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long when fully grown. They are short and plump, with four pairs of legs, each ending in claws (usually four to ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 15, 2026 ... The Tiny and Tough Tardigrades—aka water bears or moss piglets—are microscopic animals that can survive just about anything.
https://www.facebook.com/fieldmuseum/posts/the-tiny-and-toug…
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 18, 2022 ... By now, most of us have heard of the extremely hardy (and cute) tardigrade, otherwise known as the water bear or moss piglet.
https://frontlinegenomics.com/everything-you-need-and-want-t…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.