aUggQA-7gBc microcosmos-why-are-ciliates-so-hairy Microcosmos | Why are Ciliates So Hairy? For James, our master of microscopes, the immense breadth has made ciliates a bit of an obsession. Whether he’s hunting down a rare species, or documenting the behavior of something more familiar, there’s always something spectacular in this group. WU3JruoA4TY microcosmos-this-mite-be-our-creepiest-episode Microcosmos | This MITE Be Our Creepiest Episode... There are a lot of creepy creatures in the world, and even the microcosmos is no place to escape them. And perhaps one of the most unsettling creatures to us here on Journey to the Microcosmos is the mite. llel7yCxUKc microcosmos-you-cant-escape-worms Microcosmos | You Can't Escape Worms We have a complicated relationship with worms. On the one hand, they’re gross. l2kpH0_chBw microcosmos-these-dancing-worms-are-surprisingly-useful Microcosmos | These Dancing Worms Are Surprisingly Useful Do you know what’s in your water? Do you know what’s buried deep in those depths? tIlshNCG6NI microcosmos-blood-sucking-escape-artists Microcosmos | Blood-Sucking Escape Artists Of all the animals that we’ve examined in the microcosmos, leeches are probably one of the few that can be used as a verb, to leech off someone to take and take from them, like a worm consuming someone’s blood. fWsbE0TQEFw microcosmos-this-predator-is-a-shape-shifter Microcosmos | This Predator is A Shape-Shifter In the middle of the 19th century, a scientist stared into the microscope and found, staring back at him, a vampire. N4rjlqlFYGE microcosmos-nostoc-mysterious-mucus-piles Microcosmos | Nostoc: Mysterious Mucus Piles In the 1820s, a man named Dr. R. Brandes walked through a meadow on a quest to try and answer a centuries-old question about a mysterious gelatinous substance on the ground known as “star jelly.” hfbuotMzo2U microcosmos-this-neon-world-is-inside-your-fruit Microcosmos | This Neon World is Inside Your Fruit Usually we’re looking into pond water or whatever other fascinating bit of nature that James, our master of microscopes, usually looks at. NG0MXsyVm-s microcosmos-we-dont-know-why-moth-wings-glow Microcosmis | We Don't Know Why Moth Wings Glow Memberships to Nautilus seldom go on sale, but you can go to Nautil.us/microcosmos to receive 15% off your membership. aFRsRHnGEGg microcosmos-microscopic-butts-are-fascinating Microcosmos | Microscopic Butts Are Fascinating Butts. A Whole Compilation Of Them. 2zhlQiBpwlE microcosmos-why-beggiatoa-are-stuffed-full-of-sulfur Microcosmos | Why Beggiatoa Are Stuffed Full of Sulfur There’s a few things that give Beggiatoa away. The first is the simple serpentine shape of their bodies, and the second are those little dots inside of them. They look like bubbles, but they’re actually sulfur granules. pGUshqfloDA microcosmos-the-complicated-sex-lives-of-hydra Microcosmos | The Complicated Sex Lives of Hydra If we were to write a fable to get this moral across, it would have to star the freshwater cnidarian called the hydra. Because in the hydra, the question of butts connects to the ambiguities of immortality, which in turn relates to the befuddling matter of sexual reproduction. oUwhY5Ro1kQ the-tube-dwelling-architects-of-the-microcosmos The Tube-dwelling Architects of The Microcosmos Every time we see diatoms, we have to give it to them: they’re just simply stunning. They’re single-celled and major producers of the oxygen we breathe, but the real reason we love seeing them is because of their frustules. 0GOgiJlHkcY lichen-the-mysterious-love-child-of-fungi-and-algae Lichen | The Mysterious Love Child of Fungi and Algae A useful principle in the story of life is that you should never underestimate algae or cyanobacteria. They’ll just always manage to surprise you, and more importantly, to remind you that everything you have comes down, eventually, to them. 6PP4kR9zCtc tardigrades-the-ambassadors-of-the-microcosmos Tardigrades | The Ambassadors of The Microcosmos If we had to nominate an ambassador to represent the microcosmos, we would have to go with the tardigrade. Oofu8fnXWaI microcosmos-how-your-blood-keeps-you-alive Microcosmos | How Your Blood Keeps You Alive Blood is a useful substance, not just for our life, but for our way of thinking. levSVfHats0 microcosmos-these-microbes-wear-chain-mail-made-from-dna Microcosmos | These Microbes Wear Chain Mail Made from DNA The microcosmos is not always a graceful space. Sometimes an organism just needs to get around the way it gets around, even if that means looking like a swimming elephant head with a truncated snout at one end and a rat tail at the other. m5Lp6Fi5B2s microcosmos-how-electricity-brings-order-to-chaos Microcosmos | How Electricity Brings Order to Chaos Science is built on questions. So let’s start today with one: what do you think happens when you set off an electrical spark in the microcosmos? r6Q82BIww08 microcosmos-the-indecisive-evolution-of-gastrotrichs Microcosmos | The Indecisive Evolution of Gastrotrichs The Gastrotrich has long been a personal favorite microbe of several members of the Journey to the Microcosmos crew. But while we were able to see a lot with the microscopes we had at the time, James, our master of microscopes, has made some significant upgrades since then and this means that we are now able to see gastrotrichs in a whole new light. Pjr-f0w7ufQ microcosmos-adventures-in-being-eaten Microcosmos | Adventures in Being Eaten But not all organisms come equipped with a weapon that lets them turn Rotifers into Capri Suns. bcyIbq3NhI0 why-the-world-needs-more-algae-not-less Why the World Needs More Algae, Not Less Plastic, fertilizer, fuel, even cow farts, algae can make all this more sustainable, and even capture carbon. Here’s why we’re on the brink of an algae revolution. Nysdq_plUTg microcosmos-bacillaria-beautiful-crystal-colonies Microcosmos | Bacillaria: Beautiful Crystal Colonies Journey to the Microcosmos... elqwn7k2Wwk microcosmos-slime-molds-when-micro-becomes-macro Microcosmos | Slime Molds: When Micro Becomes Macro Let's dive into the branching weirdness of the pulsating slime molds! TRfPo53EuZc microcosmos-amoebas-occasional-brain-eaters Microcosmos | Amoebas: Occasional Brain-Eaters Yes, they might eat your brain, but there's a lot more to amoebas than that! jnD_YitEk5M microcosmos-hydra-stretchy-speedy-probably-immortal Microcosmos | Hydra: Stretchy, Speedy, & Probably Immortal The hydra of mythology may not be as far off from reality as you think! Let's take a journey to the mall to meet our tentacled, regenerating friends! OmoL8LlQwWQ microcosmos-euglenoids-single-celled-shapeshifters Microcosmos | Euglenoids: Single-Celled Shapeshifters Euglenoids have had a very, very long time to evolve, and that has led to the things they have evolved into being extremely diverse—so diverse that, combined with the varied shape-shifting abilities of its member species, euglenoids have proven challengin oRmbWj2ZITM microcosmos-mysterious-deaths Microcosmos | Mysterious Deaths Death is inevitable and mysterious, even in the microcosmos. Stentors, heliozoans, and yes, even tardigrades, experience death in many different ways. Ygty9HxhFK4 microcosmos-diatoms-tiny-factories-you-can-see-from-space Microcosmos | Diatoms: Factories U Can See From Space We owe so much to diatoms! They help us make beer, paint, and kitty litter, and they're responsible for some of the air you're breathing right now! kux1j1ccsgg microcosmos-tardigrades-chubby-misunderstood Microcosmos | Tardigrades: Chubby & Misunderstood We know these cute little water bears can survive the vacuum of space but are they actually immortal? We'll explore that and other misconceptions about tardigrades in this week's journey!