How to Survive the Microcosmos 

My weekly break from thinking about one particular viral facet of the microcosmos. -John

imagine if a person goes for a ice bath and then goes a to a sauna and then explodes

This makes me feel hopelessly large and ignorant of a whole story of cells and their lives as they live, die, and repeat, while I compare myself to the size of the universe and feel small, part of me wishes I was much smaller, and yet thankful I am not.

*How to Survive the Microcosmos:* *Step 1. Become as Rotifer* *Step 2. There is no step 2!*

The microscopic world is full of wonderful and fascinating things. I'm glad a major youtuber finally put them on the spotlight.

How am I going to survive the collapsing economy?? youtube: How to Survive the Microcosmos

My youngest daughter suspects a 'self destruct' enzyme in the spilled cytoplasm. I suspect she'll be explaining my taxes to me by age 14.

I believe I even know the name of that "elderly narrator" you've mentioned at 0:35 :) Sir David Attenborough:)

*The only one I'd trust for survival tips against the Microcosmos, is this channel.*

The next club banger: *DO THE LACRYMARIA! DO THE LACRYMARIA!* (If you know, you know) ;)

I'm glad I found this channel, as my major is hopefully going into stuff like Microbiology (Technical name is AS Biology with Cell/Molecular emphasis) This is just...the kind of stuff I wanna do. Look at all the little things, observe...although I know there's a lot of paperwork involved as well.

Life is just amazing. It has so many forms, in all shapes and sizes...

Isnt it something that this channel is endlessly interesting, and yet my cellular biology textbook is soul-crushingly boring

"The kindly voice of an elderly narrator..." Not sure whether you're referring to my naturalist documentary hero, Sir David Attenborough, or to my secondary one, Marlin Perkins ( _Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom_ ), but either way, you get all my love for that line.

This channel is like SciShow asmr

that ciliate healing is so god damn cool, and an EXCELLENT sight to finish on.

I love how peaceful this is

I think the fact that the death of these unicellular deaths feel so viscerally violent says something about your amazing cinematography and story telling. I felt myself physically recoil at the death of a brainless organism. That’s amazing.

It always amazed me how such a slow-moving amoeba or rotifer could capture the ciliates zipping around it.

3:41 Is it possible that the original cell's lysosomes ruptured and their contents lysed open the passing cell?

This was one of the best episodes from this channel. Thanks.

I wish they make some collaboration series with BBC and David Attenborough. Let's get this message to them before it's too late.

Thank you, Hank, James, everyone on the Journey to the Microcosmos team. Thank you for the chance to think about something other than the different, smaller, scarier part of the microcosmos that has been so limiting our lives and making us confront the fragility of our own survival for a little while. Thank you for leaving us with hope and a little more knowledge than we had a few minutes before. Never underestimate what you are giving us. Thank you.

This episode has been amazing. Thank you guys for your job, thanks to al the patreons who allow us to enjoy such a great show!

It's so interesting. I've been obsessed with understanding the cosmos since I was a young kid. You have reminded me there's a whole other world in the Microcosmos.

I love that last kind of ciliate! They have many cilia fused into much bigger ones, and sometimes they seem to walk along the bottom of the cover glass like tiny tentacle feet.

Wow these videos are just wow. Narration is amazing! Thank you for making and plz keep uploading.

Is that really a “homalozoon”? I looked up homalozoa on wikipedia and it defines it an “obsolete extinct phylum of echinoderms”.

This was great like every one of them you guys do but this one had me especially glued to the screen thank you

Microcosmos and tier zoo crossover

I like to think that one dislike was just a confused Australian trying to hit the like button.

Wonder if you guys could get David Attenborough to voice an episode of Journey to the Microcosmos . That would be really cool.

never been so early to a video

What do we say to death? NOT TODAY!!

We are a lot who have been this early to these videos, flocking around it as predators! Our human response to corona virus seems oddly similar to what we saw in your video. And thank you once again for this beautiful footage and soothing speak, and of course to all of the people who made this possible! 💚

12 seconds ago! heck yes this is the earliest i've ever been

I heard that Sarracenia and nepenthes have miniature ecosystems in their pools of digestive fluids.

Congratulations guys! For sure one of the best material I have ever seen on your channel!

I'm not a microbiologist whatsoever, but maybe the first organism has some protein or chemical signal floating around inside that rips things apart, like a "self-destruct" command.

Great work guys, really loved the narration to this piece today :) Any chance you can try to do one on viruses?

3:37 yoooooooo duuuude whats happenin- ....ah...AHHHHH! it buuuurns!

The mystery of the contagious death could be an enzyme that is released to dissolve the membrane and even the dilute remnants cascade a reaction in the living nearby.

7:45 never thought I would identify with a Ciliate on this level.

Hank, your voice is so soothing, even while hearing you describe the vicious death of microorganisms. I enjoy Journey To The Microcosmos 10x more than SciShow.

During this pandemic, there is no surving the microcosmos 😂

Relaxing and educating at the same time. The perfect combination in these days. :)

Unless there's a specific reason to become large and macroscopic, life will always prefer to be microscopic and small. That is why the vast majority of lifeforms will be microscopic, with macroscopic life being an extremely rare exception to the rule. That is my solution to Fermi's paradox.

Today you showed us, that surviving each day, even each hour is a hard task in the microcosmos. This leads to the next topic: How fast and actually how do most of the microorganisms (especially the multi-cellular, where mitosis is not enough) reproduce? Have some organisms even some states of age, like growing up and adults ready to reproduce again?

7:07 Wow! This is so impressive! 😍

Best content ever! Love everything about these videos

"The ciliate has survived this day." * rinses slide off in the sink *

3:19 I actively let out a little "awww!" of remorse

Though they are all great, this episode was especially interesting! Much love and appreciation for your work!

Bruh. Someone made a high def spore mod lmao

"Testate" seems to have a different meaning in biology than in law. I'm used to that word meaning someone had a will when they died. So congratulations to the testate amoeba on having a will! I did not anticipate that level of planning from an amoeba.

*0 dislikes* amazing!

I sadly never went fully into Biology during middle school, since I was pretty stupid back then. BUT! One thing I'm curious about: A single-celled organism is obviously still made of multiple components, is it not? Atoms or.. anything to form that cell that keeps it together so we can see what kinda micro creature it is?

Man o man, I love this channel. I can watch this all day.

*Another amazing Journey Into the Microcosmos*

*puts on a set of microscopic armor* I'm ready

770 likes to 0 dislikes. Perfectly balanced as all things should be

Awesome stuff. Thank you!

I'd rather have Hank over "some elderly narrator"

Lacrymaeia is Latin for "swan tear".

Are those bacteria havent understand

its so weird clicking on a video for a channel this big and when you get there it has only 7 views but has 11 likes (I got here when I got the notification, but I'm not going to watch it until my mom gets home with supper, cause I enjoy watching these while I eat)

Is it a real-time footage?

I think the bugs are squished by you putting the slide on. If in free water they would move like you never thought before. John Carman

Few questions: 1. Under the microscope, how much of the z-axis do we see (besides the x-y plane)? What's the DOF that we are dealing with? 2. How thick is the typical z-axis when samples are prepared? 3. So far all the movement we see is left-right up-down, all we learn in school and see everywhere is that the "microcosmos" world is "flat"; how different do the organisms react/move when it's in the "real" world (where z-axis is "infinite") vs on the limited depth of the samples that we are viewing? 4. Do micro organism even care about 3D space, or everything to them is 2D-ish. 5. Any technology available to have a more 3D representation of the microcosmos?

The ciliate has survived this day, and all is well, no matter what may happen tomorrow. *SUDDENLY, a GIANT COLEPS lunges from the corner of the screen and RIPS THE CILIATE IN HALF* oh wait the video's over nevermind

Step 1: Don't Step 2: Have as many children as possible and hope at least one survives

As to why the second *Cilliate* self-destructed, I'd suggest it was caused by a specific type of *_Messenger Molecule_* called a *Apoptotic Cytokine.* *Cytokines* are *_Signalling Molecules_* found in multicellular organisms (including humans) that are usually used to communicate between cells, but under rare circumstances can also be used by a cell on itself, in a form of communication called *Autocrine Signalling.* In it a *Ligand* (or molecule which triggers a specific *Receptor* ) is released from within the cell which attaches to a specific *Receptor* on the external cell wall, triggering it. One of the things cells can do is self-destruct: often due to severe damage, infection by a pathogen, or an identified internal defect. This is called *Apoptosis.* Unfortunately, when a cell is in severe distress, what can also happen (& I suspect is happening here) is enough of these *Apoptotic Cytokines* get released that it can trigger the effect on healthy neighboring cells. While *Cilliates* are only single celled organisms, they must still have ways to communicate with other members of their species (recognising another *Cilliate* & not trying to eat it, for example) & they have *Chemical Receptors* on their surface which are triggered by *Ligands* that may indicate either food, or a threat. When your only senses are that of *_"Smell/Taste"_* & perhaps *_Touch +_* (no Vision or Hearing), then there are going to be intense evolutionary pressures to get really good at them. + They certainly don't perceive touch the sophisticated way that we do, anyway.

I love your videos. I’m not a teacher, I’m not even a scientist, or anything. I’m a 19 year old electrician 😂. I just have an interest in the micro cosmos, space, time, math, language, conspiracies, and just the way the universe works. People think I’m some sort of genius for it but I just have a natural curiosity and find excitement and interest in everything. Goes to show how cool science is I guess 🤙🏻

This my favourite RU-vid channel right after PBS Space Time. From extremely large scale to very small. Anything in between seems boring for me. Yes, that includes You :)

Hank I feel you are a good person and I offer my opinion with respect for you and all the other viewers of this channel. For me, this video illustrates where humanity has lost humility. Experimenting on and eliminating what we perceive as a lower life form feels troubling. Can you think of other times in recent history where this has taken place? Before you say I am being dramatic please pause; the principle is exactly the same: humans act in ways that are unnecessary and careless because we think we ‘need’ to know about why things happen. Sometimes we do. Sometimes knowledge and discovery keeps us alive and sometimes actions are taken because that principle gets warped with a greed for fulfilled curiosity and we think we ‘deserve’ to know the why of something. We then take actions simply because we can, observing the death of an organism for example. Based on comments here you have multitudes of company forming an audience entertained by life, consumption and death which makes me incredibly sad and this is a group in which I do not belong. Thank you for letting me respectfully post my thoughts and feelings and I wish you well.

I've tried to observe these critters with my microscope but the coverslip is the enemy of all on my slide. Planaria hate coverslips.

The Elderly Narrator (*snort* younger than my kid) did reassure us that the critter escaped and all was well...for now. Except, of course, from the hungry predator's point of view.

A pattern that repeats identically inward and outward, throughout the universe - an infinite Mandelbrot of motion with no other fathomable purpose than to BE in motion. We are as significant as God to the trillions of lifeforms within our body, and as INsignificant as an amoeba to the rotation of our galaxy. "Wheels within wheels in a spiral array, a pattern so grand and complex - time after time we lose sight of the way, our causes can't see their effects" /Neil Peart, 1979/

@3:29 I watched a ciliate die in a similar manner once. It was more rapid as well as explosive, its organelles spiraling out into the void. As I was tripping hard on lsd at the time the death of this microbe that I had been observing (I named it Cecil) was soul crushing. I yelled "Cecil, you had so much to live for!" My roommate asked me "Who the heck is Cecil?" "One of the ciliates that used to live with us." One of the magnificent aspects of microscopy is how such a tiny sliver of our own universe becomes your entire visual world; the dichotomy of looking at the drop of pond water as I place it on a slide and then experiencing it as an ocean through the microscope. You also mention the phenomenon of a healthy microbe dying after it encounters the fresh corpse of another. I've wondered if it is lysosomes from the deceased encountering and damaging the membrane of the healthy cell.

Hey, I was wondering which microscope James used before you guys got the sponsored one. Which 170$ used ebay microscope did James use initially?

You could say osmotic pressure, but where's the gradient? No, that was solvent action. Is it possible that the inside and outside surfaces of a cell membrane are so different chemically that if the contents of one cell contacts the surface of another it destabilizes the membrane? Could this be the main mechanism of phagocytosis? It could be quite general... Wow, it's constantly shocking to remember that we are made of such delicate soapy bubbles.

If you were reborn as the microorganism of your choice, what would you pick?

What would happen if the first one with the long neck attacked the second one that is very big and stationary???

Hey, did you read the Short Story "surface tension" by James blish?

"What are you?" "I'm 2 dimensionals character alive"

P

This guys voice over is on Form.. Very interesting indeed. Respect from England bro. Cillate are that Silly.

4:16 "Homalozoon" "extrusomes" I didn't know Dr. Seuss was a microbiologist

Obviously that ciliate was mourning the _murder_ of its friend!

I like the ones like this. Personally think it would be epic to do an overview of protists as a whole. Like show the whole kingdoms tree as we know it in 20 minutes. Ik I'm a dreamer but hey, great episode. It's hard to believe this shit is real. It blows my mind. Love the action shots, though I'm sure they're hard to get.

I dunno how much money ya got for this project, but you could hire me out to draw on some motion graphics. A few arrows, callouts or circles could be handy for the viewers, instead of trying to give visual cues via voice or darkening parts the frame. Cheers.

Nobody gonna talk about how my man Ciliate just fucking exploded and literally spilled his guts all over the place? Pour one out for Ciliate Bro.

THE SECOND BEST BED TIME STORY EVER IN MY LIFE!!!!! Wish you all the best!! >:D

Damn, this is the first time I'm seeing evidence of cell wall rupture and cell death! Thank you for proving my high school science education valid! 😅

Uhm, the microcosmos is currently trying its best to undermine my survival up here in the mesocosmos. Soooo, survival guide on that, please! Kthxbye!

3:44 no its simpler than that. the digestive juice of the 1st damage the 2nd when cross the spillage

On today's episode of "Why Did RU-vid Recommend This?", we see survival of the fittest play out... on a scale too small for the human eye to see.

Just blows my mind how single celled organisms can exhibit such complex behavior. One of the little guy eating the amoeba guts tried eating a piece too big, and after a few attempts, gives up. How does it do that without a brain?

4:00 it’s A similar process To The necrosis processes that do happen in animal organisms, mostly activated via caspases which are liberated from dying mytochomdriae and are calcium dependant and tend To expand as a biochemical phenomenon trough a calcium disbalance in healthy cells through a massive calcium liberation when a dead necrotic cell liberates a whole lot of calcium when dies, enough for a neighbor one To just can’t manage that overwhelm in calcium osmolarity To maintain it’s owns’ mytochondriae going on

My guess about why a healthy cell might burst when passing by a cell that already burst - cells have vacuoles filled with digestive enzymes. When the cell bursts, those vacuoles might burst too, releasing the enzymes which might damage nearby cells