The Smallest Are the Hardiest

Tiny organisms tough it out
in the harshest environ-
ments on the planet

A few years ago a university professor with two of his grad students allowed me to accompany them on a hike through grizzly bear country in Yellowstone. They were carrying tubes for collecting microbes in a hot spring the professor knew about in a secret location in the back country, miles from the road. We had opportunity to chat on this trek. He told me that the vast majority of microbes living in the park’s hot springs are not yet known to science. A microbe discovered in a hot spring at a different location, he said, led to the discovery of PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a process of immense value in biochemistry, because it allows researchers to make millions of copies of a molecule under investigation.

The prof and his students at a Yellowstone hot spring

At one point on the hike, the professor asked that his group be permitted to continue on by themselves, not wanting the location of his secret spring to be disclosed for fear of contamination, so I continued on to my planned destination alone. His students followed him to the hidden spring, where they collected samples in their tubes to take back to the lab at his university.

The conversation reminded me of the fact that many of the single-celled organisms in Yellowstone, even bacteria (assumed by some evolutionists to be the most “primitive” of life forms) flourish in environments that would kill a grizzly bear, an eagle, or a seal (Navy seal, that is), whichever one might be classified among the “fittest”—best able to survive the rigors of life in any season.

Recently, a British scientist told about other small organisms that thrive at the other extreme: the cold of Antarctica.

How insects and the smallest animals survive Antarctica (The Conversation, 11 April 2025). Alex Dittrich, a senior zoology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, described creatures from microbes to insects that make their homes in Antarctica, using various methods to endure the freezing temperatures.

Many insects use one of two simple strategies. Freeze tolerance or freeze avoidance.

For example, they produce cryoprotectants, such as glycerol, which lower their freezing point. This allows the animal to undergo supercooling without freezing. Some generate antifreeze proteins that stop ice crystals from forming in their tissue.

Being warm-blooded requires a lot of energy to maintain, Dittrich says. Endotherms like us generate our own body heat, or if necessary, make parkas, boots and caps to get comfortable in the snow. Mammals and birds are also endothermic, equipped with fur or feathers to retain their body heat. Here in Antarctica, however, are ectothermic organisms at the mercy of the environment. By using built-in mechanisms for freeze tolerance or freeze avoidance, these hardy miniature organisms shame us wimpy mammals by tolerating extreme cold or extreme heat (for thermophilic bacteria mentioned earlier). Here are some of the Antarctic organisms listed by Dr Dittrich:

• Mites (arthropods) are found in two contrasting niches:
  • Some live in the warm nostrils of penguins.
  • Other mites manufacture antifreeze proteins that help them tolerate freezing.
• Springtails only 1-2mm in size can survive down to -38°C (-34°F). For more on the amazing springtails, see 13 Sept 2023).
• Midges (the only true insects in Antarctica) can reduce their water content to avoid formation of ice crystals.
• Nematodes are the most numerous animals. They can tolerate freezing, enter a dormant state, or reduce their water content.
• Tardigrades (water bears) are exceptional survivors in almost any environment (see stunning photo in the article).

Professor Dittrich says that one species of tardigrade was frozen for 30 years then revived “with no ill effects.” He ends by noting the importance of studying animals in extreme environments:

Invertebrates, make up an enormous proportion of all life on earth. There are so many species yet to be discovered, which could help us unlock more secrets to survival in the most extreme environments and how this can benefit humans.

Freeze tolerance and avoidance strategies, can enhance our knowledge of cryopreservation for medicine and organ transplants, improve food storage, aid climate adaptation and drive innovation in biotechnology and materials science. Studying how these microscopic life forms endure extreme conditions could reveal secrets about the evolution of life on Earth and even offer insights into the future of cryopreservation.

With that last sentence, he attribute these wonders of life to blind, unguided vagaries of natural selection—the Stuff Happens Law.

That last sentence was complete unnecessary and dropped a fly into the ointment of an otherwise good science article. It “could” reveal secrets about evolution, he says. Well, did it? Has it? Will it? Raise your hand if you know a secret that Darwin’s vacuous theory revealed about anything. If you suggest that “it revealed the gullibility of Darwinists,” I could agree with that. However, that answer doesn’t count because it is self-evident.

To get your mind back on intelligent design, see my ENST article about springtails, and watch this video of these astonishing acrobats. To think that some species of springtails survive in Antarctica adds to the wonder.