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Watch the birth of a tardigrade under a microscope: a rare glimpse of a water bear hatching

Popkin
Oct 23, 2025
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Tardigrade, also known as a water bear (TajdidProtik/shutterstock.com)

A tardigrade just hatched on camera and it’s the most alien thing you’ll see today that isn’t actually from space. These microscopic weirdos — affectionately called water bears despite looking more like vacuum cleaner attachments with legs — have a birth process that makes chest-burst…

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