MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I added some orange skin to the biome. The sugar may have speeded growth in the colony. There are more round protists than usual as well. I didn't see any amebas or larger micro animals. I suspect they may begin appearing when the colony is a little older. I wish I knew how these organisms time thei...

Long threads of translucent fibers are tied together in various ways to make a celery stalk. The threads are strong and they tangle and knot each other to make a rigid structure. Sometimes the knots of threading are so tightly woven together that you can't see the threads. Sometimes you can see the ...

I've never used animal products. I think I'm afraid of infection. I don't think it makes much difference to the microbes where the proteins come from. It just takes time for the biofilm to develop.

I get to know it. I mean smears of it or drops or chunks or particles of it spread through time or make pieces that bump. Sometimes they seem to move on their own, these things. How can I grasp it? Pressed in lines they create time. Lining up in bits of silence, bits of vacuum followed by chunks, as...

Adding fresh nutrient to an established biome really increasing biological activity. The previous microbe colony was till active but nutrients were being consumed and running out. I added some sugary carrot and some leaves from another biome with the result activity quickly picked up. The actual var...

These sweet little carrots have fat-looking sugary cells. When cut the cells excrete a gas which fogs the microscope lens under the highest magnification, when the lens is close to the carrot tissue. The cells are thick with sugary fluids. They are shapeless for the most part. https://youtu.be/TkgAX...

The population of the biome has reached maturity. The population hasn't changed much. The numbers may have stopped increasing and the range of species is stable. I added some different vegetation today to see if that affects the kinds of organisms in the mudpuddle.

https://youtu.be/W6AT8HNUPjM

This manufacturing team consumes it's weight in protein every hour and manufactures the gel-like biofilm. They are busy busy busy as you can see. Actually the machine will soon run out of fuel and I will have to add more nutrient.

https://youtu.be/nZOSfRrKTks

Well! Next year for sure. Thanks Pete M

The celery stalk has many exceptional and under-valued qualities. It has a very complex cell structure with remarkable strength. The fibers are very rigid and difficult to rip or pull-apart. It has optical properties almost like glass--it catches and spreads light.

https://youtu.be/BvpkY29r33s

This is an amazing sequence. The aggressor searches and finds its victim. It's so systematic and purposive.

I can't see a full image--just a small preview and no motion.

It's been just a week or two and this biome has increased density to the point that I can lift biofilm fully right off the water with my little wire loop. I tried to include a sequence showing an ameba being stormed and consumed by protists.

https://youtu.be/_bjHH6Y51kg

https://youtu.be/UthFcjkk7kQ

Appreciation to a Tossed-Off Salad Veggie Leaf and Stem

https://youtu.be/uAaqvezqqwM

(based on the ballet) The thing is nearly over. I haven't even had a chance to embrace. The kiss remains uncreated, too few, faded memories. And it's nearly over. Only the dark remains Unbiased unsmiling outside the unprejudiced wall. How did it slip by, that sneak of time? The dancers turn away and...

“I BELIEVE a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars,”
wrote Walt Whitman.

and these are microscopic renderings.

https://youtu.be/VmgkHc776Zw

An elastic biofilm has developed over the surface of the water. I can lift the water surface with my wire loop. I don't see anything new here--not yet. At the surface of the mudpuddle, growth and change happen quickly. Gradually the population will diversify in the coming days. https://youtu.be/jCU4...

They jump at things like they are grabbing prey but I don't see the prey they are grabbing. They don't see anything to grab at so what's going on here? Are they really grab-and-eat predators or is something else going on?

Main stream protists, a family of ameba, lots of bacteria lumping together. This is the midpoint between life and death.

https://youtu.be/BCtiFNLwaNU

Beautiful photography. What is this? Is there real motion or is it just water currents?

This rubbery leaf structure was discarded by the plant. The cells were damaged probably from aging. The cells themselves were largely visible but masked under the thick outer skin. I photographed both top and bottom faces of the leaf.

https://youtu.be/hzRYjSGv9ws

I added some new vegetation again because the last batch was nearly entirely consumed by the hungry (if that's the right word) protists. They look fresh and energetic. You can see that the range of species remains pretty narrow. There is a clear and distinct bacteria colony as well. https://youtu.be...

This plant was still in the soil but had begun to deteriorate in the soil. Its root connection had been cut off. The cells structures still seemed to be intact however. I looked at the oily leaf structures at the tips and inside. I also looked at some connective tissue that was attached to the leaf....

I am watching the mudpuddle at a stage just after the first really dense biofilm seems to have been consumed. The ameba seem especially active. I saw several in just a few minutes. There is also the usual variety of protists. I have feeling that the ameba tend to appear at the final stages of a prot...

This was a difficult biome to view. I grabbed a sample dominated by floating leaf. There was a variety of organisms in the sample, in the middle of the disintegrating leaf and in the water nearby. Most of what I saw were the familiar protist forms. There were amebas and stationary forms as well. htt...

The cell membranes in tree leaves are more or less rigid even after the leaf is dried. There are some distortions due to shrinkage and progressive curvature. But the original cell membranes are still largely recognizable even after weeks drying.

https://youtu.be/Q9Bag5hPTrE

Is there any real social behavior among simple organisms? There are conditions where some microbes meet for reproductive behavior. They even appear to "like" each other. Microbes gather near sources of food or favorable conditions just like human beings. They form communities for as long as needs ar...

Beautiful photos. I don't think it's a ciliate though. It looks like some kind of rotifer.

This is the beginning of the deconstruction project. A collection of dead vegetable cells floats in the mudpuddle ready to be disassembled. The protists are setting to work, some entering the leaf structure and others exploring around the edges outside of the structure.

https://youtu.be/9NAiw2De46s

Banana fruit is so creamy that it's hard to believe the banana has cell structure. The microscope does reveal that the fruit has cell structure which is easily deformed. Cell walls can be seen in the banana if it is illuminated carefully. Cell structure in the stringy parts or layers of the skin are...