One Gif to Rule Them All: From Amphipod to Diatom to Bacterium.

One Gif to Rule Them All: From Amphipod to Diatom to Bacterium. Captured in this amazing image is an electron microscope scan that zooms in on a tiny bacterium perched upon a diatom, lodged near the leg of an amphipod (a type of crustacean). Watch the scale at bottom right, go all the way from a millimeter, through the range of micrometers, down to 500 nanometers!

I was reminded of the verse by Jonathan Swift (1733):

“So nat’ralists observe, a flea

Hath smaller fleas that on him prey,

And these have smaller fleas that bite ’em,

And so proceed ad infinitum .”

Image Credit: “Fractal Cosmos” by James Tyrwhitt-Drake at the University of Victoria.

Stunning images of Diatoms: http://goo.gl/smk3w

#scienceeveryday ScienceSunday 

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54 Responses to One Gif to Rule Them All: From Amphipod to Diatom to Bacterium.


  1. amazing pic & info !!!! Many thanks Rajini Rao 🙂

  2. Rajini Rao says:


    You’re welcome, thanks 🙂

  3. Lew Zhang says:


    Very clear !


    bye the way ,


    Can you help me to take some SEM figure?


  4. EXTREME CLOSEUP!


    WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

  5. Rajini Rao says:


    Jack Zhang , what do you want imaged?

  6. Rajini Rao says:


    Thanks, Feisal Kamil ! Missed ya’ll too. Will never take the speed of broadband for granted again 🙂 Hope to catch up on all your vid/music uploads.


  7. WOW,  that is a nice close up…  Ja!  🙂

  8. Mark Negie says:


    Amazing, thanks for sharing Rajini Rao.

  9. Rajini Rao says:


    You were probably on your best behavior Feisal Kamil  ? 😉


  10. That how much technology is developed …….. amazing I never imagine before that we can Zoom That much 

  11. Rajini Rao says:


    My lips are sealed, Feisal Kamil 😉

  12. Mark Negie says:


    It is amazing that our species lives in a fantastic universe full of treasures to discover, from the cosmos above to the smallest speck of dust below.  If you want to be amazed or astonished, look about you and enjoy. 

  13. Rajini Rao says:


    I share your wonder, Mark Negie . I can never get enough of this stuff 🙂

  14. Mark Negie says:


    Yeah, Rajini Rao; ain’t it great to be so geeky. =)


  15. Alas poor Yorick I knew him well. 

  16. Rajini Rao says:


    Ode to a bacterium, Terry Hallett ? (Thanks to the Scanning EM).. To see or not to see, that is no longer the question 🙂

  17. Deeksha Tare says:


    Epic post Rajini Rao !


    So glad to have you back!! 🙂

  18. Rajini Rao says:


    Delighted to be back, Deeksha Tare . Although I missed seeing you in India. Pune is not that far away from B’lore and I traveled pretty far up north in Karnataka. Next time…


  19. This reminds me of the sentient cell theory – because upon zooming in, the image looks like a vast city. Heck, our Earth is like the infinite universe from the pov of the cell.

  20. Rajini Rao says:


    Cool idea, Shah Auckburaully . Diatoms look man made, what with all those canals and pipes.

  21. Robby Bowles says:


    Wow, that is cool Rajini Rao.  Time to figure out how I can use an electron microscope in my research…

  22. Fred Gandt says:


    Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ’em.


    Little fleas have littler fleas, and so ad infinitum.


    🙂


    EDIT: Ah! You said that already!


    I just woke up O.o

  23. Mark Negie says:


    True Fred Gandt you are restating what has been already said, but your little ditty is more fun to say; and good morning.

  24. Rajini Rao says:


    Fred Gandt , great minds think alike! Thanks, Ali Adelstein .  What luck to have found the diatom and bacterium on the amphipod! Certainly the bacterium would not have been visible before the EM scan. 

  25. Fred Gandt says:


    You are gracious Rajini Rao, but a great mind (even a not yet fully caffeinated one) would have read the post before commenting. 🙂


    Thanks for the show. It amazes me how detailed our lives are without us being constantly aware of it.

  26. KQED SCIENCE says:


    Really cool – thanks for sharing!


  27. Great visual, once again making learning fun for all!

  28. Joan Hogol says:


    Bacterium I can see youuuuuuuuuuu 🙂 


    Incredible , thanks for share this things with us 


  29. what about more gif images such as this 


  30. Rajini Rao you are great


    thnx


  31. Waw..Amazing.


    Many thanks for sharing.

  32. Ari de Lima says:


    Very strong close up


  33. Exelente hay que verlo y verlo.

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