MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

The water sample was a little too deep on this trip. The lens kept hitting the cover glass. But some of the images were worth seeing. There was an an interesting variety of protists, This mudpuddle is becoming a visual feast.

https://youtu.be/JqY5ZRiSuG4

I didn't get a rich haul on this trip. Many of the organisms looked pretty quiet. I suspect that some of them were of an unmoving type.

https://youtu.be/ob2zVBkqMmA

The tomato seed itself is very difficult to cut, It's surprisingly hard and the fluid around it makes it hard to stabilize. The cells that surround the seed have a special interest because the seed is suspended in a slippery gelatin. The gelatin itself is not liquid. It has a flexible cell structure...

Really fine pictures.

Masses of protists in the biofilm produce foamy bubbles in the medium. The film is composed of water molecules and digested vegetation. Protists move about absorbing nutrition.

https://youtu.be/8Lc43IjQtdU

Any bit of vegetation attracts masses of protists. When I probed the puddle water in my jar I found masses swirling around in the water. I picked up about 3 square mm here.

https://youtu.be/zCVjQRM6RkM

The biome is a complicated environment. Bits of vegetation stay isolated in particular areas and different areas have different rates of population. Even though there are no physical barriers, different areas seem to populate separately.

https://youtu.be/Uv3MG-nq9FY

The leaf was drawn from stagnant water after a week. Organisms had modified the cell structure although the basic substructure of the leaf was still integrated.

https://youtu.be/Lj7eT1pskzE

A few days after I added new muddy water to the biome, a family of protists emerged. They are much the same as previous groups. But they are increasing in number and variety every day. No biofilm has yet formed. It may take a few days yet.

https://youtu.be/fc0XTsutQu8

This tissue had been at the end of a new seeker branch drying on the floor of a pot on the shelf. You can see how complex the cells are. Now the branch ends in dead tissue.

https://youtu.be/k_WWme9PIxo

Long bacteria string, nearly transparent protist, and pointy-tail

https://youtu.be/WEbXjzgEAY4

A pointer mover and an odd nearly empty organism

https://youtu.be/I6md4RTZD4I

I started a new sample added to the mudpuddle. I added new vegetation to an older sample. It is starting but not from scratch.

https://youtu.be/hlnCJWZVsPs

https://youtu.be/Zn4kil0K_5M

This grass was slowly drying on the lawn. It was intact and the cells were in good shape.

https://youtu.be/SsJdafSVJt8

The microbes have partially digested the vegetation but can't seem to make it all disappear. The development of the biome seems stilted. This may be as far as it goes.

https://youtu.be/sQaCZ07dwlE

https://youtu.be/dKyFMVHo2mU

Rubber tree leaf top and bottom

https://youtu.be/te-o1Y6m_Fg

We are brothers! I'm thrilled. But you are a lot more sophisticated than I. I have been thinking about these things all my life but I'm too lazy to read. Please keep in touch.

Don Schaeffer

BIOFILM AFTER 3 OR 4 WEEKS
(finding my way back on line)
https://youtu.be/X0w69C5Ha4Q

https://youtu.be/SA-mIcF9vHc

In a previous discussion the subject of does life imply some kind of awareness came up. I know it's a kind of taboo subject among scientists who want to keep their precious distance. But the subject came up. I don't know what awareness means really--it has something to do with a process of making de...

Thanks Free2Fish. It's a very low standard for success. But I'm working on it.

Thanks. It is very much a work in progress. You tube wouldn't take the file of a dozen pictures or so. It just referred back to You Tube. When I tried to upload to You Tube, the software only took one sequence (out of a dozen). Then when I tried it again to upload the whole thing, I got an error say...

An old dog may have learned new tricks.

https://youtu.be/KN6f6-4vniY

Wow! Thanks a lot. I didn't know you could do that. With the aid of my son, I did find the old software just this afternoon and installed it. I think I'm back. If it doesn't work--or even if it does, I will try to get back up this afternoon. Thank God for friends and family.

What do microbes use as "teeth?"

Dear Harry. Thanks for your reply. I had a stroke about a year ago which affects my memory. Internet-wise I was ok until two weeks ago when the internet company I have used for my videos decided to upgrade and changed the address and passwords. Because of the stroke my memory failed and I can't get ...

The ghosts
can only sneak up.
They're very hard to spot
from this vantage point
where things don't
see ghosts.

They don't try
to hide but
ghosts can't
will to be seen.
They may want to
grab a place in your
friendly world.

They weep
not because they are ghosts
but because
they are alone.

It's an unpredictable misery. Even on a quiet day when there is no one to disturb you. A small switch is turned and the lights of day flicker and threaten. How long has it been since you were scared? It's a state in decline. It makes some demands. You have to be in a priveleged state of vulnerabilit...

There is a tiny screen door near the edge of the second panel: click it. What if you are half blind and can't see it? What if you can see it but don't know what to do? What if the instructions are murky and not correct? I see you're out there watching me waving my arms. I say goodbye and you can't h...

When the doctor said, "You didn't die, Donny. There will be tomorrow." I looked at her with glazed eyes. "This place isn't so great but it made good children." The sun was shining. The Spring was going to start. I rubbed shoulders with fear and the contact felt good. Fear does not have a cold body. ...

My internet provider decided to upgrade its services. I couldn't get the new site installed because I couldn't get the old password right (I guess I lost it). They are not patient about such problems. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. I am just an ditzy old man but I love you guys.