Foldscope, Tardigrade and The Himalayas Part 01
Nov 14, 2018 • 6:32 AM UTC
Nepal
140x Magnification
Microorganisms
Yashas Devasurmutt
Biotechnologist|Photographer|Tardigrade Hunter|Musician|Gamer My Research Interests are Astrobiology, Nanobiotechnology and Artificial Intelligence.
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Hey folks, here’s a post about my journey in the Himalayas with Foldscope. Follow me on Twitter and Researchgate to know more.
My current endeavour on Tardigrades (water bears) started as a passion for Astrobiology, these tiny creatures are known to survive extreme environment conditions (i.e., low or high temperatures/pressures, high dosage of X-rays/gamma rays/UV radiations) and then revert to normal state as if nothing happened. They undergo a state where the metabolism rate almost reaches zero. This state is known as Cryptobiosis. Further Reading
Now what’s the connection with the Himalayas?? Tardigrades are distributed throughout the globe, you name the place, you’re going to find them there. Yes!!! The Himalayas too!!!
So my journey started from the lower valleys of Kullu-Manali (32.2396325 N 77.1887145 E; 1898m above sea level) in search of Tardigrades
My current endeavour on Tardigrades (water bears) started as a passion for Astrobiology, these tiny creatures are known to survive extreme environment conditions (i.e., low or high temperatures/pressures, high dosage of X-rays/gamma rays/UV radiations) and then revert to normal state as if nothing happened. They undergo a state where the metabolism rate almost reaches zero. This state is known as Cryptobiosis. Further Reading
Now what’s the connection with the Himalayas?? Tardigrades are distributed throughout the globe, you name the place, you’re going to find them there. Yes!!! The Himalayas too!!!
So my journey started from the lower valleys of Kullu-Manali (32.2396325 N 77.1887145 E; 1898m above sea level) in search of Tardigrades
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River Baes overlooking the valley
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Manali Forest 01
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Manali Forest 02
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Manali jungle 01
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Manali Jungle 02
Found and collected Lichen samples in the place
Found and collected Lichen samples in the place
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Lichen Sample 01
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Lichen Sample 02
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Lichen Sample 03
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Lichen Sample 04
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Me, collecting some Lichen samples
Me and Deepak failed to find Tardigrades, so we collected some more to bring it back to the lab.
Me and Deepak failed to find Tardigrades, so we collected some more to bring it back to the lab.
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Me, finding for some Tardigrades
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Deepak too..
We further trekked to our next site, Sethan (32.2361262 N 77.222686 E; 2722 m above sea level) and collected some more samples and halted for the day.
We further trekked to our next site, Sethan (32.2361262 N 77.222686 E; 2722 m above sea level) and collected some more samples and halted for the day.
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Path to Sethan
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Sethan Valley
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Strange tree on the way. LOL!!!!
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Lichen Sample 01
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Lichen Sample 02
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