Microbial Motility
Magnified motor machines moving marvelously
Here I've collected some examples of things that have turned up in my old Seattle rain sample. Originally collected about a month ago in a petri dish that I’d placed on my roof during heavy rainfall. Since that time it's sat here on my desk, under its glass cover which I've only removed to dip a pipette in for the purposes of observing droplets. The usual caveats apply. Please forgive any erratic camera movements and focus-wrangling, I’m branching into higher magnification levels and contending with the associated shrinking pains. The majority of clips presented here are set at 2x speed to reduce length and file size. The first two clips also have music. just messing with various editing features, it may be a little loud by default.
So what brands of locomotion will we be observing here? As I understand, the primary means of microbial movement are via flagella (and thank you Danyele for the tip!). Google was kind enough to provide a handy visual aid:
Do our conceptions of such mechanics adequately cover these routine feats of speed, on-a-dime reversals, and deliberately calculated maneuvers?
What do we observe here; ceaselessly stirring within droplets within droplets?
Where do these busy little critters fall on the evolutionary spectrum?
What gets released by way of these unfolding processes that always seem to occur in such close proximity to our famous filaments?
What commotion is stirring at the heart of this random clump of particulate?
And finally: How many licks DOES it take to get to the tootsie-roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
I imagine these findings & musings may appear mundane and uncompelling to the specifically-educated or the perpetually incurious. But I’m committing to not suppressing my own honest ignorance and amazement as I routinely encounter all these sights I possess no concrete explanations for.
I've also been coming to grips with some of the less anticipated effects all these unguided forays into the unseen world have on the psyche. While there’s certainly an element of excitement inherent in plunging haphazardly into domains for which I've had no formal acclimation; there are also associated tolls that seemingly deduct themselves from the stabilizing conceptions and generally-held beliefs by which I interpret this realm of existence & how it all holds together. I'm not begging for the padded cell just yet. Just feeling a need to be candid about my frame of mind going forward. This world is unendingly complex and faceted. It's really all most of us can do to maintain a tenuous hold on our own infinitesimally narrow perspectives. It's wild, eh?… yet here we are.
FUNKY FILAMENT OF THE WEEK:
Remarkable videos. Excellent work. I appreciate your time and energy in putting together such a beautiful yet frightening display and dissertation.
B
rilliant. W have had MD for 1yr now and in that time have lost almost everything.
Foreclosure is only a couple of weeks away. It infuriates me that our government has gone right along with the rest and alienated us,ridiculed us by classing us as delusional when we are clearly not. The damage done to us financially as a result of the lack of treatment and purposeful ignorance far outways the physical symptoms that plague us 1yr on. Unable to work at all for some 10mths, used our hard earned cash and slavings of 13yrs rather than go on the dole. The same government then refuses to let us access our super to get us out of this rut,why? Because we werent on the dole for 26 consecutive payments. How the hell is that even remotely fair? Tough lesson learned there. I hope there is a reckoning of sorts that crucifies those responsible for this shitband every other politician/government employ that knew anything about it and did nothing. So sorry to soapbox on your blog. Absolutely love your work and if I had a dollar I would give it to you.
Andy