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Comment on New species of tardigrade reveals secrets of radiation-resisting powersparent

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It’s a form of evolutionary cross-tolerance. The mechanisms that tardigrades evolved to handle the hydration/dehydration cycle in moss just happen to be very effective at protecting them from radiation and a bunch of other environments.

That’s not a very satisfying answer until you dig into the biology that makes it happen. The mechanisms that protect cells from environmental stress are useful for many different kinds of stressors.

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