Meet the tardigrade. Resembling a nearly microscopic balloon animal with eight clawed feet, this aquatic organism can lose almost all of the water in its body and survive, once it is rehydrated.
Often called one of the toughest animals on earth, the tardigrade has been around for 600 million years, preceding the dinosaur by about 400 million years. It can survive the most extreme heat, cold, desiccation — even the vacuum of outer space.
This resilient creature, as well as plants and other organisms that can survive extreme conditions — especially the lack of water — are at the center of a $12.5 million research institute known as WALII, which is short for the Water and Life Interface Institute. WALII includes scientists from eight different institutions, including CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Biology Hugo Tapia, Ph.D.