Nano-Suit Protects Bugs From Vacuums

sciencehabit writes "Put a fruit fly larva in a spacelike vacuum, and the results aren't pretty. Within a matter of minutes, the animal will collapse into a crinkled, lifeless husk. Now, researchers have found a way to protect the bugs: Bombard them with electrons, which form a 'nano-suit' around their bodies. The advance could help scientists take high-resolution photographs of tiny living organisms. It also suggests a new way that creatures could survive the harsh conditions of outer space and may even lead to new space travel technology for humans." Work is also being done on electron "suits" that protect against radiation.

Comments

Awe, damn. That's too bad.

[VortexCortex]

Read tittle, imagined tiny insect Gundam warriors battling the ferocious Gigga Vacuum cleaners. Can't bring myself to read the submission and destroy this newfound fun.

Spacelike vacuum?

[Mjlner]

What exactly is a "spacelike vacuum"? Is it different from other vacuums? Are there vacuums that are unlike space?

Re:Spacelike vacuum?

[Anonymous Coward]

Inside Dyson spheres.

Re:Spacelike vacuum?

[khallow]

What exactly is a "spacelike vacuum"? Is it different from other vacuums? Are there vacuums that are unlike space?

Well, there are levels of vacuum graded by orders of magnitude drop from one atmosphere, according to Wikipedia. But "spacelike" isn't one of them since pressures in space can vary by about eleven orders of magnitude (ignoring here that the transition to "space" from a planetary or stellar atmosphere is arbitrary).

I imagine what they mean is that they were using pressures down to the range seen in low Earth orbit.

MasterChef Mania

[MassiveForces]

So what you're saying is, fry them a little to seal in the juicy goodness?

Re:shockingly

[tloh]

Apparently not:

They found that the energy from the electrons changed the thin film on the larvae's skin, causing its molecules to link together—a process called polymerization. The result was a layer—only 50- to 100-billionths of a meter thick—that was flexible enough to allow the larva to move, but solid enough to keep its gasses and liquids from escaping.

Re:shockingly

[pahles]

Apparently not:

..., they found that the young fly wiggled in place for an hour as if everything was fine. When they put another larva in the same vacuum and let it sit there for an hour before bombarding it with the microscope's electrons, it predictably dehydrated to death. Somehow, the electron stream was keeping the larva alive and so unscathed that it later grew to become a healthy fruit fly.

Re:shockingly

[durrr]

It replenishes the energy gauge, allowing the insects to engage Maximum Armor

G.NZ1 Powering Up. Damage Control Mode Activated.

[VortexCortex]

tittle (tit - tel) n. - portmanteau of 'titillating' and 'title'.
Typically used to describe news headlines that are more interesting than the article.
Unlike other portmanteau, the morphemes being combined are heterophonic -- having the same initially spellings, but different meanings;
Thus, a double t is introduced as a form of self referential onomatopoeia; The word is spelled the way it ought to sound.
"'Twasn't a typo; The tittle they typed told a more titillatious tale than the total text transmitted."