Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Read the passage and select ALL statements it supports.

Tardigrades, sometimes called water bears, are microscopic animals famous for surviving conditions that would kill almost anything else. When their watery habitat dries out, they do not simply tough it out. Instead, they expel more than ninety percent of the water from their bodies, pull in their legs, and curl into a barrel-shaped form known as a tun. In this state their metabolism nearly stops, and they may persist for years until moisture returns. Protective molecules such as trehalose and special proteins shield their cells from collapse. Once rehydrated, the animal slowly reactivates and resumes ordinary life as though nothing had happened.