Paris — If a monster space rock crashes into our planet or radiation from an exploding star boils our oceans, humans and most other life forms will disappear. But one creature is sure to survive, according to a study published on Friday. And it will keep going for as long as the sun doesn’t die — at least another 10-billion years. Earth’s designated heir is the tardigrade, a microscopic, grub-like, eight-legged animal that can live in water or on land, in extreme pressure high or low. Also known as a water bear or moss piglet, it can withstand sizzling heat, freezing cold, and high radiation, 30 years without food, and even being dried to a crisp. Despite its diminutive size — less than a millimetre — it is considered the world’s toughest animal. The tardigrade, say researchers from Oxford and Harvard, will survive all foreseeable astrophysical catastrophes — asteroid strikes, exploding stars (supernovae) or gamma-ray bursts — and "be around for at least 10-billion years". That is f...
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