A tardigrade just hatched on camera and it's the most alien thing you'll see today that isn't actually from space. These microscopic weirdos — affectionately called water bears despite looking more like vacuum cleaner attachments with legs — have a birth process that makes chest-bursters look pedestrian.
Here's how it works: Mama water bear grows her eggs inside her body, then sheds her entire skin like some kind of microscopic Silence of the Lambs situation. The eggs stay inside the discarded skin-suit, which doubles as a protective nursery.
As reported by the YouTube creator of the footage, catching this on camera is difficult — the whole process takes about 15 minutes. The baby tardigrade basically busts out of its skin-prison looking like it's ready to survive the vacuum of space, which it literally can.
These little wonders can survive extreme radiation, boiling water, freezing temperatures, and the void of space. They've been around for 500 million years, which means they watched the dinosaurs come and go and will be here to watch all evidence of humankind vanish into dust.
