#colpoda

“That’s the joy of the Microcosmos. It is so Infinite. There’s it’s own objective existence, full of so many more organisms than we’ll ever be able to identify.”

Journey to the Microcosmos- We Upgraded Our Microscope!

Journey to the Microcosmos: The Micro World Right Under Your Feet

Images originally captured by Jam’s Germ’s

“But, very basically, phase contrast and DIC are two ways to take advantage of a strange reality. Light actually travels further through some materials than others. Kinda.”

Journey to the Microcosmos- We Upgraded Our Microscope!

Images Originally Captured by Jam’s Germs

Journey to the Microcosmos-  How We Find Our Microbes

Tardigrade discovered in a cryoconite hole inside Canada Glacier in the Dry Valleys in Antarctica Credit Ariel Waldman, Colpoda and small ciliates 400x, Colpoda 400x, Ciliate 400x

Tardigrade Image captured by Ariel Waldman

Colpoda! i.e. the comma filled with little bubbles

-These protists are quite common in bacteria-rich environments, where they out-compete other organisms and breed rapidly. 

-One of the secrets to their success is their ability to clone themselves. In some species, a single colpoda can split up into 8 parts, each part becoming a new organism. However, they usually reproduce through conjugation.

-You’ve probably eaten a few. They are commonly found on the surface of plants. When you eat the plant (and protist), the colpoda passes through your digestive system unharmed. Unless you are a snail and the colpoda is  Colpoda steini, in which case you just got parasitized. 

-They have been found in Antarctica and in pitcher plants 

-They look adorable. Here’s a Colpoda inflata being characteristically hyper: