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The Guy Who Hunts Space Bears in Rural Virginia

Motherboard

Mike Shaw is a quiet, unassuming man who's in love with the wilderness, and he knows more about tardigrades than almost anyone. These microscopic creatures, whose name comes from the German for “slow walker,” and who are sometimes called “water bears” because of their bear-like gait, are biological oddities. While their nervous system looks and acts like ours, they can survive in extreme environments—including outer space.

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