#euglenaria

“Microbes don't have this sort of complex visual processing, but many still need to know where the light around them--whether that's to seek out food or avoid hidden dangers. They may not see things the way we do, but the mechanisms they have in place allow them to respond to light in extraordinary ways to meed the most ordinary of needs.”

Journey to the Microcosmos- Can Microbes See Without Eyes?

Images Originally Captured by Jam’s Germs

"So we have one definition of immortality that depends on aging in multicellular organisms, but how does that apply to single-celled creatures that reproduce asexually? What does death mean to a single cell that divides and divides and divides, creating a legacy that is recursively itself. Is it enough to just be one of thousands (or tens of thousands) of clones to ensure that even if you die, you still, in essence, live?"

Journey to the Microcosmos- Do Microscopic Immortals Actually Exist?

Images Originally Captured by Jam’s Germs

"How does this fit in with our vision of immortality? It's hard to know. At this point, the question of whether we should consider a flask of bacteria immortal starts to feel like a matter of semantics. It's informed as much by personal and philosophical ideas as it is by biological ones. But of course, some of the most interesting questions of science and philosophy boil down to issues of semantics. These aren't just questions of how the world exists, but also of how we see the world, how we describe it to each other, how we imagine it."

Journey to the Microcosmos- Do Microscopic Immortals Actually Exist?