In Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds adaptation of Wells' novel, the Heat-Ray is portrayed as two bluish-white rays that appear to have a desiccating effect on living objects, such as animals, and a 'disruptive' effect on other objects.
Desiccation, in which electrical energy kills tissue near the probe tip by heating it past the temperature at which cells can survive.
When found inside, they are typically near a source of moisture such as a bathroom or laundry because they desiccate easily.
When pools dry up they can survive periods of desiccation as eggs, and some species are capable of forming cysts in harsh conditions.
Sequences from aerobic, anaerobic, psychrophilic, thermophilic, halophilic, alkaliphilic, acidophilic, desiccation-resistant, autotrophic, and heterotrophic organisms were present, including a number from multicellular eukaryotes.
The microclimate is determined by the sunny, south-facing slopes and the proximity of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, and is conducive to the proliferation of Botrytis (noble rot) and the subsequent desiccation of the grapes.
In plant kingdom, though trehalose has been reported from several pteridophytes including Selaginella lepidophylla and Botrychium lunaria; the sugar is rare in vascular plants and reported only in ripening fruits of several members of Apiaceae and in the leaves of the desiccation-tolerant angiosperm Myrothamnus flabellifolius .