The Effects of Extreme Conditions on Tardigrada Cultures
Scientists have long marveled about the science of suspended animation and preservation of biological structure. The miniscule Tardigrade, or water bear, however, has already mastered the state of suspended animation, or cryptobiotic state. The researchers sought out to subject water bear cultures to certain environmental conditions and observe the effects they have. The three conditions that were used include placing Tardigrade cultures into a freezer set at -35°C, a germicidal monitor that gives of radiation, and a centrifuge that spins on it highest setting. For every trial, the Tardigrades were kept in these environments for ten minutes. After the time had elapsed, the researchers placed the Petri dishes of Tardigrades under a microscope counted the number of Tardigrades that entered the state of cryptobiosis out of the total number of Tardigrades in the culture. A Chi Square Two-Way statistic was performed using these percentages. It was concluded that not all of the proportions were the same and the freezer trials had the greatest effect when compared to the radiation or centrifuge trials.
Research Done By:
Kate Dunkle
Fraser High School
Drew Martin
Sterling Heights High School
Warren Consolidated Schools