Hunting the tardigrade: one small step in sequencing DNA of all life on Earth

Witek Morek examines tardigrade samples. The screen image reflects what he sees through his microscope. Photograph: Ali Smith/The Guardian

Witek Morek is closely inspecting an old brick-and-flint wall on the Cambridgeshire campus of the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

“We are going to use a very advanced tool designed by bioengineers and evolved over millions of years – the human hand – and grab some moss, and put it in an envelope,” he says.