Before the armored fishes flashed in the deep...
Before the first trees climbed to dominion over the land of ferns...
Before the collision of continents wrinkled mountains, and their drift embraced the seas...
...tiny life swam in the primordial warm waters.
And there they still swim today.
(Photo series of an amoeba moving and feeding in bacteria rich water. Our daughter is doing a science fair project on the succession of life in tap water with some dead grass thrown in. This is day five. 400x magnification.)
14 comments:
I did the same thing when I was at elementary school, too.
It is amazing that these creatures live basically everywhere, isn't it?
We need sophisticated equipment to prove their presence, but they are present nevertheless.
Very cool project!
Ah! I'm reminded of my science exhibitions not long ago. Only I did it on pollution and environmental deterioration. Now I've graduated to serious (and sometimes boring) conferences but the whiff of memory has crept up like the smoke in your previous post. My best wishes to your daughter. I hope she starts blogging soon. ;-)
I still remember my awe the first time I looked through a microscope. As a child, the notion that vision is so limited, that an entire universe stretches beyond sight, is really, well, cool.
I hope your daughter is finding this project to be just as fun!
LOVE IT!
Szelsofa, watching protozoa is an amazing experience. I did just what our daughter is doing, but on my own as a teenager. The succession of microscopic life is fascinating.
Jaye, she really liked watching the amoeba. And the other "monsters" too.
Abhinav, I'm sure those sparks of what first interested you in science are alive and well!
Sarah, I spent quite a bit of free time experimenting with such things as a teenager. This Leitz microscope is the same one my parents got me long ago. I wanted to be a pathologist, and they figured it would be put to good use. There is so much drama played out in these tiny places we rarely care to see.
Angela, sorry the pictures aren't clearer. I did my best hobbling the equipment together. :)
I remember the thrill of discovering these tiny little things swimming in the microscope in school. What a fun project and a great adventure in learning about life.
Cool photographs - what's the time frame for the whole series?
According to Tom Robbins, the first amoeba is still out there somewhere, since they multiply by binary fission!
Anti-Wife, she's having a good time. Today was really wild. Some big bruisers have appeared.
Electric Orchid Hunter, the amoeba movement took about 1 minute, maybe less. That's a great point about the first amoeba! I guess we just saw a piece of him/her/it. Blobtastic!
Interestingly, the first pic reminds me of our son's 1st ultrasound... eerie and awesome...
Angelique
I love amoebas. Reminds me of my 10th grade Biology teacher.
The idea of a primordial day resonates with me. Today was primordial for me for sure.
Sparked memories of watching hydra antics under the microscope....
Angelique, now that you mention it.... ;)
Ybonesy, today's look had many amoebas. Weird. I've never seen so many.
Julie, that's one thing I haven't seen...a hydra.
Amazing!
... and they'll be here long after us. Could we call that immortality?
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