4 ms·

Aliens exist! Tardigrades, sure. But they're out there!

• benj111 3y ago
  Tardigrades aren't aliens, they're emigrants. Of course from the moon people's pov, they are aliens.
  • dfee 3y ago
    Does the term apply like that? At what point would they become alien - small or significant evolution? Is there a right answer?
    • benj111 3y ago
      google gives the definition "supposedly from another world". tardigrades are from this world. i wouldnt define a mars born human as alien, so i wouldnt say its based on where that generation was born either. evolutionarily, i suppose for me the dividing line is when the creature has evolved to the point where its more at home in its new habitat than its old. i dont think youre ever going to get a bullet proof, exceptionless definition though.
      • dingaling 3y ago
        > tardigrades are from this world. There are plenty of them here, but did they evolve on Earth or arrive from elsewhere...?
        • benj111 3y ago
          Have you got any particular evidence? We could hypothecate that God made them, that isn't really science though.
        • chatmasta 3y ago
          They are DNA-based organisms, like every other known life form, all of which evolved on Earth, so it seems reasonable to assume they evolved here too. Of course you might hypothesize that DNA is a building block of life that is not unique to Earth, but that's a whole other can of worms...