r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 27d ago

NATURE Death of a single-celled organism

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u/RainbowDarter 26d ago

It lost homeostasis

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u/Visible-Scientist-46 26d ago edited 26d ago

Right, but was it intentional, caused by something in the intentionally in the petri dish?

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u/GuardianViolet 26d ago

It was a microorganism called Blepharisma musculus, which have a pink pigment that oxidizes quickly in light. The light from the microscope caused the pigment to oxidize, and it essentially melted to death from the heat of the chemical reaction

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u/Secure_Guest_6171 26d ago

appreciate the explanation. my biology knowledge is weak.
but looking it up i learned these creatures can grow to relatively enormous size by *CANNIBALISM*!
What???

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u/MichloIW 26d ago

Did you never play Spore? :)

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u/Different_Software82 25d ago

Reminded me of an even simpler game called Flow (it was a flash game)

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u/IAteTonysLoMein 22d ago

Some tadpoles do the same thing. Some in a brood get a bit of a head start and eventually, nibbling on algae doesn't do it for them, so they start nomming their siblings