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Tiny Worms Survive Shuttle Crash

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the not-so-terminal-velocity dept.

John H. Doe writes "According to CNet, tiny worms kept in special aluminum canisters aboard the space shuttle Columbia (which broke apart in the atmosphere back in Feb. 1, 2003) survived their fall to earth. The small (about 1mm long) soil roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans was found alive in four or five of the recovered canisters, after an impact 2,295 times the force of Earth's gravity."

4 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Tiny Worms Survive Shuttle Crash! by cffrost · · Score: 4, Funny


    *Whew!* What a relief!

    That mission wasn't such a disaster afterall!

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  2. So? by gellenburg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's not like worms have any bones to break, or complex brain structures that would suffer life-threatening subdural hematomas upon impact.

    Besides, the worms were packed in loose soil offering cushioning upon impact, and have very low oxygen requirements compared to humans.

  3. Four or five? by Pretor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is it to much to ask of our researchers that they manage to count to at least 5?

    When they found the canisters did they count like a child? What comes first? One. And then? Two. And then? Three. And then? Four or five, I'm not sure.

    1. Re:Four or five? by thegarbageman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wouldn't they be both alive *and* dead? Schroedinger's Worm?

      --
      "I propose we leave math to the machines and go play outside." - Calvin