Biostasis
From Free net encyclopedia
Biostasis is the ability of an organism to tolerate environmental changes without having to actively adapt to them. The word is also used as a synonym for cryostasis or cryonics. Insects undergo diapause, which allows them to survive winter and other events. Diapause may be obligatory (required for the insect to survive) or facultative (the insect is able to undergo change before the initiating event arrives).
Possibly the most outstanding example of biostasis is the Tardigrade, an eight-legged arthropod-like creature no more than 2mm long that looks like a bear (hence the nickname "water bear"). The Tardigrade has an extreme capacity for desiccation and reduced metabolism. Desiccated tardigrades have been found to "reanimate" after more than a century. Their ability to remain desiccated for such a long period is largely dependent on the high levels of the non-reducing sugar trehalose, which protects their membranes.