Scientists Are Adding Water Bear Protein to Human DNA — Here's Why #biology #science

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]This animal can survive a thousand times the radiation [music] that would kill you.

[00:00:04]In 2016, a Japanese lab discovered why.

[00:00:08]The tardigrade produces a protein called Dsup that [music] wraps around its DNA like a shield. When radiation hits, its DNA doesn't break. Researchers are now [music] testing Dsup in humans to protect healthy tissue during cancer treatment. They're in the ground beneath your feet. A piece of one may soon live inside a cancer patient.