Journey to the Microcosmos Season 3, Episode 15: Strange Stentor Stories

We Upgraded Our Microscope!

Differential interference contrast is not a microscope, but rather a method that enhances contrast, and thanks to our new microscope we are able to share some amazing DIC images with you!

10 min

How Do Microorganisms Poop?

Everybody poops, but how does one poop when one does not have a butthole?

10 min

Flatworms: Simple Wiggly Tubes

10 min

Our Paramecia Are Infected

We recently discovered some Holospora infecting one of our Paramecium samples. How does that happen? How does the Holospora get in there? And how are they so successful at infecting?

10 min

Lacrymaria: Vicious Long-Necked Predators

10 min

The Fungus That Traps and Kills Nematodes

Arthrobotrys is a genus of fungi that not only kills nematodes, but it also sets traps in order to catch them!

10 min

Ophyroglena: The Tricky Transforming Ciliate

On the surface, Ophyroglena seems like it should be pretty easy to identify, but it all depends on which stage of life it's currently in.

10 min

Can Microbes See Without Eyes?

10 min

Do Microscopic Immortals Actually Exist?

Are you immortal if you never age? Defying death is not as clear-cut as it might initially seem. What we define as immortality depends a bit on what you think it means to die.

10 min

Water Is Thicker When You’re Smaller

10 min

Didinium: The Paramecium Hunter

10 min

Some Water Bears Live on Land

10 min

The Case of the Mistaken Amoeba

Today we're exploring the intriguing Ouramoeba vorax. Or wait... is it Amoebophilus simplex? Let's figure that out together by diving into some history!

10 min

This Ciliate Is About to Die

It's time to explore a big question while we watch a ciliate go through its last moments.

10 min

The Schoolteacher Who Discovered 700 Ciliates

Alfred Kahl only spent a decade in the world of the microcosmos, but in that time he discovered more ciliates than anyone else ever has!

10 min

How Did Multicellularity Evolve?

10 min

Actinobolina: A Tiny Predatory Porcupine

It may not be the super rare tentacled ciliate we were looking for, but it's still a really cool super rare tentacled ciliate!

10 min

Foraminifera: Hard on The Outside, Squishy on the Inside

We're going fossil hunting for Foraminifera! From beaches, to the ocean floor, to the foundation of the Egyptian pyramids, Forams are everywhere!

10 min

Why Do Bacteria Move Like Vibrating Chaos Snakes?

Bacterial flagella are very hard to spot in our footage, but we see evidence of them in almost every single one of our videos. The question is, how do they work, and are they different from the other flagella we've discussed?

10 min

Dinoflagellates: The Algae That Saved an Astronaut

10 min

Moss & Lichen: Which One Is Actually a Plant?

10 min

Suctorians: The Ugly Duckling of Ciliates

10 min

Pelomyxa: The Microbe That's Big Enough to Pet

10 min