 Sleeping Beauty took a 100-year nap. So can microscopic critters known as tardigrades, or water bears. Water bears can live in droplets of water on plants. If the water they live in evaporates, they lose water too and go into a deep sleep. A little water is all it takes for them to spring back to life. Instant tardigrades!
Illustration by Dave Whamond
© 1996 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.
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