KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
At 7:10 p.m. on the 10th, KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’ will feature a lecture on organisms that have overcome extreme environments and evolved.
Director Lee Jung-mo of the National Gwacheon Science Museum introduced tardigrades as organisms with superhero-like regenerative abilities that restore injuries to their original state. Tardigrades, also known as ‘water bears’, and in particular ‘Hypsibius exemplaris’, are representative life-forms that endure extreme environments.
Lee said, “When there is severe exposure to radiation, or when there is no water and oxygen is scarce, DNA damage is to be expected” and “Tardigrades have a very strong ability to repair damaged cells and DNA.”
For this reason, tardigrades withstand radiation far stronger than levels that would be fatal to humans. They have survived space-environment experiments, and there are records of survival, albeit temporarily, at a high temperature of 150 degrees and an ultra-low temperature of minus 272.8 degrees.
KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
Lee Jung-mo explained that the survival abilities of extremophile organisms can also help human life and the advancement of medicine. As a representative example, the naked mole-rat was mentioned.
He stated that naked mole-rats can generate energy from fructose even without oxygen, and that researchers are exploring whether this metabolic process can be applied to the treatment of stroke or cardiac arrest.
When the supply of oxygen stops, humans cannot produce energy, and brain cells are damaged within minutes. The heart muscle likewise cannot contract, and the heart stops. Lee explained, “If energy metabolism were possible without an oxygen supply, there is a possibility of reducing the damage to brain cells and heart muscle that arises from oxygen deprivation.”
However, he emphasized, “Humans still cannot carry out energy metabolism without an oxygen supply, and fructose metabolism also carries risks of side effects such as metabolic disorders,” and added, “In-depth research is necessary.”
KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
Lee Jung-mo said that extinction and evolution are ultimately “a fine line.” He explained, “When extreme environments begin, such as a sudden shift in global temperature or an asteroid impact, species that cannot withstand that environment go extinct, and those that endure evolve to fit it.”
He then cited the dinosaurs that dominated the Cretaceous as an example. He said, “Dinosaurs may have been stronger and larger than any other animals on Earth, but in the end they could not withstand the mass extinction,” and added, “The mainstream animals that ruled that era, especially the large-bodied ones, are vulnerable to rapid environmental change.”
This is because, in the face of temperature changes or food shortages, the larger a species is, the more of its body is exposed to environmental change and the more food it requires. Lee emphasized, “In increasingly volatile extreme environments, it is not the strongest or the largest species that survive,” and stated, “Those that survive are the species that change their bodies the fastest and respond flexibly.”
Lee Jung-mo pointed out that humans have been destroying the environment and altering ecosystems at a very rapid pace. He said, “For the first time in the history of Earth, a life-form has appeared that does not adapt to the environment but changes the environment itself, and that is humans.”
KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
As humans began farming, the pace of changes in the environment of Earth also accelerated sharply. Lee explained, “After the start of agriculture, the temperature rose by 4 degrees over ten thousand years, and more recently it rose by 1 degree over the past one hundred years.” The structure of ecosystems has also changed greatly. He explained, “Ten thousand years ago, wild animals accounted for 99.9 percent and humans and livestock only 0.1 percent, but today wild animals make up only about 3 percent.”
However, Lee Jung-mo also emphasized human potential. He said, “Humans, with small and weak bodies, became apex predators and came to possess power strong enough to shake ecosystems,” and added, “The problem is that with that power we have changed ecosystems for the worse.”
Finally, he said, “Rather than being overly afraid and worried, we need to keep hope and make efforts to solve the problems,” and emphasized, “Humans created the problems, but in the end humans are also the ones who can solve them.” He then concluded the lecture by urging, “For our survival, we need to create an environment that coexists with a diversity of animals.”
KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’ episode 279, the ‘The Hero Who Overcame Extreme Environments, What Are the Secrets of Extremophile Organisms?” installment, airs at 7:10 p.m. on May 10, 2026, and after the broadcast it can be watched again on the KBS website, Wavve(Wavve), and the YouTube channels ‘KBS Culture’ and ‘KBS Documentary’.
