Tardigrade DNA put into human stem cells to create super soldiers

 Scientists Put Tardigrade DNA Into Human Stem Cells. They May Create Super Soldiers.

Here’s why water bears could help us withstand nuclear warfare.

By Tim Newcomb

NANOCLUSTERING/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY//Getty Images

• Chinese military scientists believe the tardigrade’s cells improve a human’s ability to withstand radiation and potentially other diseases.
• The scientists put this plan in motion, already placing the water bear’s genes into a human embryonic stem cell and testing it successfully against X-ray radiation.
• The miniature water bear is considered arguably the hardiest creature known to humans.

Tardigrades—also known as water bears and, occasionally, moss piglets—are spectacular. They are so spectacular, in fact, that Chinese military scientists think the tiny animal’s powerful genes could be used to create radiation-resistance within humans. At least, that’s the latest plan in motion: creating super soldiers able to withstand nuclear warfare.

In a report first published in Chinese in Military Medical Sciences and reported by South China Morning Post, researchers from the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing say they believe inserting a gene from the microscopic water bear into a human embryonic stem can help significantly increase the cells’ ability to withstand radiation. And they have some data to back it up.

“[Researchers] said success in this unprecedented experiment could lead to super-tough soldiers who could survive nuclear fallout,” SCMP reports.

Before getting into any discussion of the obvious ethical ramifications of the experiment, we’d be remiss to not highlight how the tardigrade is basically the exact animal you’d want to replicate if trying to withstand anything, including a nuclear fallout.