This article is from WeChat public account: husk (ID: Guokr42) , author: rain knock window, the subject map from: visual China
(This article is not spoiler, please rest assured)
After three years of notice in the clouds, the well-known game producer Kojima Hideo’s highly anticipated new work “Death Stranded” was finally released on November 8, allowing many players to pay for this time. The crazy shipping mode is turned on.
In this game, the essence of human beings is to deliver the courier – the player needs to constantly deliver the goods according to the order and rebuild the “network connection” between people. However, compared to the delivery, road repair and village network communication, what attracted me more is the group of “small bugs” that appeared at the beginning of the game. They writhed their bodies and had eight small feet. The name was also called “hidden insects” – this is not a large water bear bug!
When you see the oversized water bear bug, the water bear bug lovers are very happy | “Death stranded”
MoreThe stimulating thing is that these “large water bear worms” are still used in the game: grab a few hidden insects and put them in your mouth, you can get the blood return effect, it is said that “the taste is very unique”.
Taste is unique | Death is stranded
This makes people wonder: can these little eight-legged guys really eat? What happens if I eat a water bear bug in reality?
Hidden bugs and realistic water bear
The water bear worm is not a species, but a general term for the (Tardigrada) organism, which is now known to humans. There are thousands. These small animals are widely distributed, from the Antarctic to the North Pole, from the mountains to the sea, from fresh water to moist soil, moss, and everywhere.
Water Bears under a microscope
The most famous feature of the water bears is their extremely cute little claws. The magic weapon against their extreme environment is “hidden” – taking off most of the water in the body and entering the almost dead sleep of metabolismstatus. In the dormant state, they are extremely resistant to harsh environments such as drought, low temperature, high temperature, vacuum, and radiation. When the environment is right, they can wake up from sleep and it seems to be alive and kicking.
From the introduction of the game, the hidden insects are similar but different creatures to the slow-moving animals that existed before the death of the strand. One of the most important differences is the size. The actual water bears are much smaller than these crypts. They are usually 0.3-0.5 mm in length and 1.2 mm in long heads. It is difficult to use. See [1] to the naked eye.
Du’s high-quality bear worm toy, this model is about 100 times larger than the real thing | Author’s shooting
In addition, there is a significant difference in the body structure of the cryptic and water bear worms. The body of a water bear can be divided into five parts: the head and four body sections with a pair of appendages, and the last pair of feet are at the end of the body. The cryptic worm has a long “tail” after the four-legged body section.
Comparative body structure of water bears and “hidden insects” | DeathTheorys/reddit
In terms of tolerance to harsh environments, cryptic insects are much more powerful than water bear worms. They can “live anywhere” and even pass the time rain resistance to the humans who eat it.
Introduction to hidden insects in the game | “Death stranded”
So, can the real water bear worm eat?
First of all, there must be animals in the natural world that feed on water bears, and there are still many. According to the data, predators of water bears include nematodes, mites, spiders, hoppers, some insect larvae, and water bear worms of other species. Prior to this, parasitic protozoa and fungi can also infect these small animals [2].
Why are you so cute? | Rafael Marine Microfauna
What about humans? Is there any problem for people to eat water bears? It should not be. Although in the real world, it is difficult to find a record of human consumption of water bears (after all, too small), but considering that these slow-moving animals are extremely widespread and not easily noticed, people who have inadvertently eaten a few should have already occurred. So far, there is no record of human diseases caused by water bears. (Of course, it is not worth recommending to taste the water bears) Span>
Will the water bear worm survive?
If a raw water bear is eaten like “Death Stranded”, will this stubborn creature survive in the human stomach? It is probably not possible in reality.
Eat? | Death Stranded
Unlike the invincible setting of hidden worms in the game, the tolerance of water bear worms is far less versatile. And it’s important that those strong patience are only available after entering the “hidden” state – this requires proper triggering and requires a little time. Catch a twisted water bear worm suddenly eat it, at this time the water bear worm did not enter a hidden state.
Experiments have shown that active water bears do not tolerate acidic environments: in a pH 2 environment, the water bear insect Hypsibius exemplaris died after only 5 minutes [3]. From this point of view, they probably do not support the strong acidic gastric juice. Moreover, in view of the fact that water bears are not resistant to mechanical damage, the chewing process may also harm these little guys.
Finding water bears around you
Real humans