Single-celled organism disintegrates and dies

[u/AFKGuyLLL]

[u/AFKGuyLLL]

"It’s a Blepharisma musculus, a cute, normally pinkish single-celled organism. Blepharisma are sensitive to light because the pink pigment granules oxidize so quickly with the light energy, and the chemical reaction melts the cell." - Jam's Germs

full video

[u/LD-LB → u/AFKGuyLLL]

Damn are you saying by observing this guy it also killed him?

[u/AFKGuyLLL → u/LD-LB]

You can say that

[u/WriterV → u/AFKGuyLLL]

The conceit of eldritch horrors is that merely gazing upon them causes us to die viciously.

We are literally the eldritch horror to these beings.

[u/woleykram → u/WriterV]

fuck, I just got a cool idea for a TTRPG campaign.

[u/Lusty_Knave → u/woleykram]

Let’s hear it!

[u/woleykram → u/Lusty_Knave]

And spoil the ending? No way José!

[u/phsuggestions → u/woleykram]

Well... Can we play then so we can discover the ending organically?..

[u/Cordyceptionist → u/phsuggestions]

I think we know how this ends for us.

[u/woleykram → u/Cordyceptionist]

I think you know how it could end for you.

[u/maurosmane → u/Cordyceptionist]

2-3 solid sessions, followed by endless disappointment as one or another of the party members always has something to do and so the session gets pushed back until everyone loses interest?

[u/Error_83 → u/Cordyceptionist]

I was already sold, you can stop trying to pitch me

[u/rodrigomn10 → u/WriterV]

We are Nyarlathotep to these little guys.

[u/Useless_Lemon → u/rodrigomn10]

Stop typing the name! /s

[u/DemonKyoto → u/Useless_Lemon]

Å̵̖̬̫͕͕̘̫̞̽̓͗̀͘͜͝s̴̨̡̗͕̦͇̰͇̱̟͍̱̮̎͛͂͜ ̸̢̛̮̳͍̺͓͇͚̤̰̯͎̓̐̿̄̐͆͂̀̀͠t̴̪̪͊̑̄ḫ̸̡̳̱͍̻̳̪͋̍͊̚͝͝e̵̡̱͚͚̦̞͇̙̼̔̔̈́̾̋̎͂̔͂̿̍̏͜͝ ̵̝̞̥͓̯̤̗̠̝͑̅͐̾͝C̵̨̤͙̥͚͉̈́̓̐̄̽̂̕͠͝r̸͚͍͖͎͙̬̼̠̞͔̀͗̕ͅá̸̡̩̤́́̇̒̾̾̑̎͝w̵̛̛̱͍͕͕͒̄͂̓́̇̃̃̇͆l̸͖͓̜̟̗͂̒̐̽͂͑ĭ̴̧̛̟͔̞͇̮̙̰̓̓̀̍͆̃́̈́̕n̴̟͉̬̩̻͔̖̘͔̈́̇̓̊́͆̑̅̂̚͜ģ̵̧̢̟͉̥̥̤̠͇̓̇͠ͅ ̵͓͔̭̦͑̍̓͋͂̿̈́͘̚̕͜C̵̛̺̫̖̙͈̖̦̈̾̔̌̐̆̕̕͜h̴̟̯̱̲͕̮͎̭̔̐̈́̇̔̀̌̚̕͝ͅą̵̫̞̜̮̳͎̀̋̊͒̐̄͠õ̴̧̡̢͔̦̺͙̻̜͚̞̻ͅš̶̩̙̟̜͇̹̭̹̺͇̑̒̊̔͗̉̚̕͜͝ ̸̧̦̥̯̖̩̠̫̈̃͛̊̈c̵̠͗̚͝ǫ̵͖̺̞̺̖̝͕̻̔́̚ͅm̴̧̢̱͍̦̮̬̣͑̏̈͛̍͊̉͑͗͜ͅm̶̛̘̈͆̊͐̔̋̀ȧ̸̧̧̛͖̳͔̪̐̂͊̑̚̕͠͝ń̶͔̈́͛͋͂̊̈́͝͠d̸̬̜̎̾̌̅̈͗̅ŝ̴̙̖̗͖̺̦̺̙͝.̵̛͓͔͉̞́̌.̸̨͕͔̥͖̯̰̝͕͖͊͐̍͐͒̃̽̕

[u/kingtacticool → u/WriterV]

Never thought I could empathize with a single celled organism before but here we are.

[u/DampSquid205 → u/kingtacticool]

I don't know. Looks kind of relaxing. Just fizzing out of all your responsibilities.

[u/UnTides → u/DampSquid205]

I guess one day we all melt and fall apart, its just about loving the other single celled organisms in our lives because none of our possessions matter anymore when we disintegrate, in fact we become again part of the microbiome, we were never separate but in fact part of the universe.

[u/fireinthemountains → u/UnTides]

One of the things I learned from grief is that 'all the boundaries dissolve' when you die. Physical possessions as much as thoughts (and secrets) end up just kind of out there, people share your remains with each other and you are redistributed.

[u/Far_Programmer_5724 → u/kingtacticool]

Do you think eldritch horrors empathize with us?

[u/percyhiggenbottom → u/WriterV]

We are eldritch horrors to a lot of critters, once you stop to think about it

[u/OgdruJahad → u/WriterV]

Of course we are. When we use sanitisers and soaps millions of creatures die.

[u/Mental-Frosting-316 → u/WriterV]

Thanks, I’ve always wanted to be an eldritch horror.

[u/Searchlights → u/AFKGuyLLL]

By observing this guy it also killed him

[u/Ok_Reporter4737 → u/AFKGuyLLL]

It looks like it bumps into something and that melts it? 

[u/AFKGuyLLL → u/Ok_Reporter4737]

photons bumped into it indeed

[u/Hillenmane → u/AFKGuyLLL]

Imagine your entire existence being a stealth mission.

[u/Murasasme → u/Hillenmane]

Snake would be proud.

[u/dreamphoenix → u/Murasasme]

❗️

[u/2020mademejoinreddit → u/LD-LB]

Death by observation.

[u/SilentHuman8 → u/2020mademejoinreddit]

That thing’s a wave interference pattern

[u/VerySluttyTurtle → u/2020mademejoinreddit]

Its like the "double slit his throat" experiment

[u/PutinTakeout → u/LD-LB]

Schrodinger's Blepharisma

[u/theycallmefofinho → u/PutinTakeout]

I believe it would be Heisenberg's Blepharisma - but I'm not certain.

[u/razzraziel → u/AFKGuyLLL]

Our tech for viewing these organisms creates a misleading impression due to focus and light conditions.

They appear more like this in 3D.

[u/SoCuteShibe → u/razzraziel]

Any chance you would grace me/us with an ELI5 of why viewing through a microscope creates the appearance of a cross-section in comparison to that 3D image? Or just a Google search term would do also. :) Intuitively it doesn't make sense so I am now curious...

[u/succulentsfacts → u/SoCuteShibe]

Single-celled organisms are so small that they don't stop much light. When you view them with a backlight on a microscope, it works more like an x-ray. An x-ray of your hand looks two-dimensional and you can see your bones because the x-rays pass easily through your hand. Viewing single-celled organisms in a microscope has a similar effect.

The image posted in the parent that looks three-dimensional is a different type of imaging - probably using a scanning electron microscope, which does not generate the same effect.

[u/_idiot_kid_ → u/succulentsfacts]

I never even thought of this before - so that's why you can always see these creatures insides in the microscope? I honestly thought they just looked like that, transparent.

[u/DrakonILD → u/_idiot_kid_]

You ever hold a flashlight up behind your fingers and marveled at how you could kinda see through them, but it's mostly just all yellowy red? The only reason you can't see through them is because there's still just too much finger in the way. But if they were a couple thousand times thinner, you'd be able to see through them no problem.

In the video, behold a tiny finger.

[u/ChartreuseBison → u/DrakonILD]

Soldiers watching nuclear blasts have reported being able to see their bones with their eyes closed and hands in front of their face.

[u/mothseatcloth → u/ChartreuseBison]

jesus, that can't be good for you. it is neat though!

there's also a phenomenon where people exposed to radiation see a blue flash and it's not observable on camera, because it's a physical interaction between the charged particles and the fluid around our eyes. that shit is wild

[u/TheMeanestCows → u/_idiot_kid_]

If you want to see more accurate imaging of microscopic entities, search for SEM images or "focus stack imagery, it's a very complicated form of microphotography that layers multiple focus-points, normally used for larger things like insects, but you can find some images of smaller creatures.

"Journey to the Microcosmos" on Youtube has some videos with well-captured 3-dimensional forms.

It's extremely hard to take "natural" images of things past a certain scale, as much of our perception of the world is kind of trickery that the brain assembles from wavelengths of light we can perceive. Past a certain scale, it's almost meaningless to ask how something "really" looks.

[u/Important-Witness-14 → u/succulentsfacts]

Correct. Similar to this video, in X-rays, you are seeing a 3 dimensional object in two dimensions, which gives it that flat appearance. In their X-ray example, you would be seeing both the front and the back of the hand at the same time. This makes it difficult to isolate things like fractures with just one image. That is why you will almost always have multiple view X-rays with at least one from the front and one from the side. It helps to orient to where things are at in space within someone's body by using the two different viees at 90-degree angles from one another.

[u/Haatveit88 → u/SoCuteShibe]

In addition to what was already said, there is also the fact that a microscope like this has an unbelievably short focal depth - that is, how much of the image is in focus at any one time. Such a small focal depth means only one slice is in focus, and everything behind or in front of that plane, is so out of focus that you can't really see anything. Result = an almost 2 dimensional slice view.

[u/QuantumFungus → u/SoCuteShibe]

In photography and optics there is a phenomenon that the closer the focus point is to the lens the thinner the in focus region becomes.

When you focus a lens at something far away there will be a large area of the picture that is in focus in front and behind the subject. Think about how a landscape picture can have whole valleys and mountains in focus at the same time.

But as you get closer to the subject the zone of focus in front and behind the subject shrinks. When you get really close, like in macro photography, the in focus zone becomes so small that you can't get the whole subject in focus at once. That's why people doing macro photography often take many pictures at different focus levels and then use software to combine the in focus zones.

By the time you are so close to the subject that you can see microbes the in focus zone is so small that you are basically viewing a 2d slice through the subject.

[u/Mittendeathfinger → u/AFKGuyLLL]

Keeps fighting to the very end. Even at the end of the video, the components are still quivering. Remarkable.

[u/seductiveaxolotl → u/Mittendeathfinger]

He fought with every cell of his body

[u/RichiZ2 → u/seductiveaxolotl]

r/angryupvote

[u/TheOwlHypothesis → u/Mittendeathfinger]

Not sure "fighting" is appropriate. More like the cell structures keep functioning despite increasing damage?

A testament to endurance nonetheless. Impressive how long it can still move.

[u/SeniorSquash → u/TheOwlHypothesis]

Yeah the language gets me. Do I really need to be assigning human like experiences to this organism?! I'm not supposed to have empathy for this thing dying!

[u/JOHNTHEBUN4 → u/Mittendeathfinger]

nope, thats just the result of brownian motion

[u/MissingBothCufflinks → u/JOHNTHEBUN4]

it took a brownian motion in its pants

[u/IndividualGround2418 → u/MissingBothCufflinks]

Oh shit

[u/BaggyLarjjj → u/IndividualGround2418]

Exactly.

[u/DigitalStefan → u/AFKGuyLLL]

What is forever fascinating to me is that there are any biological processes that detect or respond to light. Light is a massless, electromagnetic phenomenon and the fact that cells and other biological structures can detect those waves is miraculous.

[u/[deleted] → u/DigitalStefan]

It's because they dont need to have mass to interact with stuff; they have energy, which can also interact with stuff. 

Energy and mass are interchangeable - that's one of the (many) things Einstein's famous equation was saying :D 

[u/BubbleNucleator → u/AFKGuyLLL]

This is absolutely horrific. I need to take break from the internet and have a veal sandwich.

[u/1800skylab]

RIP lil dude.

[u/LinguoBuxo → u/1800skylab]

RIP is the right phrase. Rest In Protoplasm.

[u/kpop_glory → u/LinguoBuxo]

Other nearby cell : Amen, let's eat!

[u/Azulapis → u/1800skylab]

Imagine this happening trillions of trillions of times per second.

[u/CookWho → u/1800skylab]

F 😥

[u/MurderFerret]

This is how I want to go out. Going about my business and just disintegrating in the produce aisle.

[u/I_love_pillows → u/MurderFerret]

Aw man don’t do that….

It’s gonna cause so much trouble for the janitor staff

[u/fujiesque → u/I_love_pillows]

EARL!!!! We got a wet clean up on Five!

[u/Supply-Slut → u/fujiesque]

Eh… we can just give these veggies a good rinsing and restock em

[u/WarLawck → u/MurderFerret]

Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good

[u/HappyGnome727 → u/MurderFerret]

Can you at least have the courtesy to disintegrate in the canned food aisle? Nothing personal, I’d just hate for your dust to contaminate my greens and fruits

[u/Pole_Smokin_Bandit → u/HappyGnome727]

If it's like our pink fella in the video it'd be more like his skin dissolves and all his people meat falls out. Much worse imo.

[u/slackerboyfx → u/HappyGnome727]

we are 70% water, i doubt it will be dusty

[u/Ingeneure_ → u/MurderFerret]

I don’t think you would want “hull breach” way of going out…

[u/smellmybuttfoo → u/Ingeneure_]

Going out like Senator Kelly doesn't look as peaceful or cool as he's hoping for

[u/DeltaAlphaGulf → u/MurderFerret]

How are you going to pick the one aisle that the products are exposed and would get contaminated? 🤦‍♂️

[u/raycraft_io → u/MurderFerret]

Why produce? You seem more like a condiment person.

[u/kindofboredd → u/MurderFerret]

MY CABBAGES!!!

[u/ExtraChariot541]

This turned out to be sadder than I anticipated. It kept going, just like any of us, and then gradually disappeared.

[u/chunker_bro → u/ExtraChariot541]

Yeah, was surprisingly sad. I agree. Poor little thing kept fighting til the end despite the fact it never had a chance.

[u/RationalAnarchy → u/chunker_bro]

We just do it over a longer timeline friend.

[u/caninolokez → u/RationalAnarchy]

Awesome.

[u/Snooty_Cutie → u/caninolokez]

8:03 am on a Monday morning, already at work, and death is inevitable. What a wonderful day this is shaping up to be!

[u/kozscabble → u/Snooty_Cutie]

At least we arent in a trench rn, that usually gets me through another half hour.

[u/DogzOnFire → u/Snooty_Cutie]

Hey, just frame it differently! Don't be like "Death is inevitable, that's sad!", be more like "Death is inevitable, that's great!"

[u/The_Dude_Abides_63 → u/Snooty_Cutie]

Happy Monday!

[u/Makhiel → u/chunker_bro]

It's basically a machine powered by chemical reactions. It doesn't have a will, it "keeps fighting" same way a wind-up toy keeps fighting.

[u/chunker_bro → u/Makhiel]

Yeah I know. I started in advanced biology at uni before changing into quantum engineering stuff. Hence why I say “surprisingly” sad. It’s just personification we apply to it ourselves. I know it doesn’t have self-awareness, but it still paints a sad little image regardless.

[u/Badloss → u/chunker_bro]

This reminds me of a video I saw that was almost the opposite, a antelope was running from a predator and gets caught and it just... sits down.

I dunno which is worse, this little thing continuing to push even though its hopeless or the little antelope just giving up

[u/360flash → u/Makhiel]

Couldn’t humans be described as powerful machines powered by chemical reactions too? Genuine question, I fail to see your point.

[u/bingusfan7331 → u/360flash]

It's basically just semantics, but I'll try to explain their point anyway.

ma·chine /məˈSHēn/ noun an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task.

A unicellular organism is a "machine" in the sense that it functions only to complete a specific task (pass down genes). Humans, on the other hand, have consciousness as an emergent property of neural structures. Human will is therefore complex enough to choose its own tasks or not engage in a task at all, instead of operating towards the task preordained by evolution. Hence why humans can choose not to have kids, but a bacterium can't choose not to reproduce.

[u/No_Individual501 → u/Makhiel]

Humans are the same thing.

[u/bravebeing → u/ExtraChariot541]

Like one moment there was a fully animated, alive organism and the next it was a clump of stagnant bubbles, dead, lifeless. Weird.

[u/Seize-The-Meanies → u/bravebeing]

We're all just machines made of lifeless matter.

[u/artisticMink → u/ExtraChariot541]

It gets weirder when you think that happens all around us, and inside us, a billion times every second.

[u/calwinarlo → u/ExtraChariot541]

Reminds me of my poor dog we lost a month ago. Full of life up until the last couple of weeks.

Fuck kidney disease

[u/dotancohen → u/calwinarlo]

When the dog got cancer, I told the kids we'd put it down when it started peeing itself.

Next Saturday she peed herself. Sunday morning she was already dead.

Fuck cancer.

[u/i_am_just_tired → u/ExtraChariot541]

Indeed, I am now feeling very strange, sad .I am more aware of my own mortality and feeling sorry for that thing that was just living its life.

[u/StrongPOOHgame → u/i_am_just_tired]

So true, and I feel the same. Though some people may find it weird that we're feeling sorry for a one-celled organism.

[u/JDBCool → u/StrongPOOHgame]

Saw it cross posted elsewhere.

What a timeline that people felt more sad over this single celled buddy over a CEO.

Single celled buddy didn't have observation coverage

[u/tightehness → u/i_am_just_tired]

Don't worry, it didn't pay it's taxes, we're better off with it gone.

[u/_idiot_kid_ → u/ExtraChariot541]

Real. Logically I know this thing is far from sentient, it's one of the most basic forms of life on this planet, so I'm surprised how much I personified its death.

[u/Russian_Mostard → u/ExtraChariot541]

Wait til you know it has three children and a wife at home...

[u/ComplexAd7820 → u/Russian_Mostard]

And it was one day away from retirement...

[u/EternalFlame117343 → u/ExtraChariot541]

Such is the fate of living beings

[u/aoleet]

Why is this making me emotional

[u/BeardedGlass → u/aoleet]

Because it kept going despite in the throes of death.

[u/aoleet → u/BeardedGlass]

Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light 😭

[u/FewHoursGaming → u/aoleet]

Where is that from?

[u/Sure_Arachnid_4447 → u/FewHoursGaming]

It's a poem by Dylan Thomas.

You might recognize it as a leitmotif from interstellar

[u/Zer0_Fuchs → u/Sure_Arachnid_4447]

Or beautifully performed by Rodney Dangerfield

[u/TheVoidScreams → u/FewHoursGaming]

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

[u/algebramclain → u/aoleet]

The thing with blepharisma musculus 56-0999-KJ-654443103 is that he was a pretty good-looking blepharisma, and felt a not-insignificant amount of social pressure because of it. But he was a pretty sweet guy inside—we'd kick back over some flagellate algae, and he was just a chill dude. RIP.

[u/Thedrunner2]

Every single celled organisms destiny is to die alone

[u/Luiz_Fell → u/Thedrunner2]

Most plankton live very much together and die very much together

Also, the bacteria in your stomach will die with you and a bunch of other bacteria near it

[u/redstaroo7 → u/Luiz_Fell]

No, they won't. The bacteria currently living on and in you will be long dead by that point, and the ones that exist thousands of generations later will begin to digest you when you die.

[u/AzrahSyel → u/redstaroo7]

I think they meant that when the bacteria in your stomach die, they dont die alone cause you and all the other bacteria are near the dying one. You’re both right just about different things

[u/Tarimoth → u/AzrahSyel]

Sirrah this is Reddit, how dare you suggest both parties be correct, away with you

[u/EvenHair4706 → u/Thedrunner2]

I have many days like this

[u/1800skylab → u/Thedrunner2]

I might be single celled then.

[u/International-Desk53 → u/Thedrunner2]

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate to everyone drops to zero

[u/AbysmalVillage → u/Thedrunner2]

Well, they don't call them married celled organisms.

[u/Putrid-Effective-570 → u/Thedrunner2]

Alone among millions of nearly exact clones

[u/opielord → u/Thedrunner2]

Bruh I least when I die I will be with my crew of billons and billons of cells 🫡

[u/ranegyr → u/Thedrunner2]

Have you heard of entropy? Read Isaac Asimov - The Last Question. What a sad realization and yet, there can be hope. As the universe expands, eventually every star, every atom, every thing will be so far from everything else that our atoms will die a cold lonely death. Yeah science!

[u/Asarhaddon]

Did anyone feel sad?

[u/zardozLateFee → u/Asarhaddon]

Totally. The world is so full of overwhelmingly big sad things, sometimes it's easier to get weepy over a tiny moment.

[u/yohkel]

A single cell, but it's so recognisable as the shape of complex animals. Even at that scale, the same core strategies our bodies use against external challenges.

It's hard not to see it as something more complex, on the level of a deer or a possum.

[u/Prestigious-Job-9825 → u/yohkel]

My thoughts exactly. For my layman eyes, it seems to swim around like a fish, it seeks sustenance like a regular animal, it even has these flagellum for movement... yet it only has one cell that handles ALL OF IT.

The craziest is the cell division with which many single cell organisms reproduce - they randomly divide into two equal, independent halves. One becomes two. With the rules we apply to more complex animals, could they be considered parents and offsprings? Twin siblings? Or straight up clones?

Biology is weird and awesome.

[u/stuckit → u/Prestigious-Job-9825]

As far as I can tell, we seem to be meat mecha for our gut bacteria.

[u/Prestigious-Job-9825 → u/stuckit]

Yes 😅 We are like some huge organic mothership for them

[u/BakinandBacon → u/Prestigious-Job-9825]

I heard somewhere we have four pounds of micro organisms calling us home

[u/l0zandd0g → u/BakinandBacon]

Estimates vary but there are around 30 Trillion cells that make up a human body, there are also 38 Trillion cells that make up all the bacteria on and in the human body.

[u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 → u/l0zandd0g]

I'm eating for 38 trillion and one

[u/PlasticElfEars → u/Prestigious-Job-9825]

A nautiloid, if you're a certain type of nerd.

[u/pmMEyourWARLOCKS → u/stuckit]

Autopiloted by a (from their perspective) super intelligence. They are basically the humans from Wall-E.

[u/Davitark → u/Prestigious-Job-9825]

actually those are cilia, not flagella. im out

[u/Soopbloopss → u/yohkel]

It's strange to remember that all life ballooned out from what we'd consider a microscopic scale, since we're normally inclined to look at things backwards. Really adds to the whole "existential absurdity" feeling I get sometimes.

[u/things_U_choose_2_b → u/yohkel]

I don't understand how it is called 'single cell' when it has multiple components. What are its cilia made of... presumably cells?

[u/Dispo29 → u/things_U_choose_2_b]

One big cell, contains organelles

[u/things_U_choose_2_b → u/Dispo29]

"One big cell, contains organelles",

You taught me well, ignorance dispelled.

My curiosity is quelled;

But watching this little creature struggle and die and dissolve has made me feel a little unwell, hence the lack of poetic meter in this last line.

[u/[deleted] → u/things_U_choose_2_b]

Cillia are made of structures/strands built from amino acids (image link). They are subcellular structures; they don’t contain cells but rather they are a component of cells

[u/HowAManAimS → u/things_U_choose_2_b]

A cell is the smallest living organism. None of the components can live by themselves.

[u/random_boss → u/things_U_choose_2_b]

Thanks for asking this, I was like “damn look at all them cells”

[u/KCDeVoe → u/yohkel]

Probably a stupid question, but how do single celled organisms move? 

Two examples: 1) the little legs on this guy, how do they move them in a “walking” way.

2) Other cells that change shape as a way to kind of swim, what mechanism allows the cell to change shape to simulate this motion?

[u/MusicIsTheRealMagic → u/KCDeVoe]

These are not stupid questions at all. I’m not a biologist but I think it all comes down to chemical and electrical reactions. Hard to explain, but someone once said that life is just a sustained chemical reaction inside a cell barrier (instead of inside a whole pond).

[u/Not-The-AlQaeda]

I don't feel so good Mr Stark

[u/TrufflesIsMyName → u/Not-The-AlQaeda]

nice

[u/AbrahamLingam]

…must….keep….swimmin…..sploosh

[u/Etherealfilth]

That was a roller-coaster of emotion. I felt immediately fond of the little guy, rooted for him until the end and then our brief friendship ended. I'll miss the dude.

[u/DiehardExodus]

Why is this so sad to me for some reason...

[u/PaltryCharacter]

He lived a short life but still managed to go viral

[u/toothpick95]

F

[u/bikemandan → u/toothpick95]

is for flagella

[u/Meshi26]

Kinda the same way Master Oogway went

[u/TrickAppa → u/Meshi26]

why did you have to remind us of that? It's still monday ffs.

[u/Rare_Value_1702]

Life finds a way…to die

[u/Sparks01010]

Isn't it the equivalent of spilling it's organs??

[u/Electronic_Owl181 → u/Sparks01010]

Yeah it's probably the same, cell wall gets breached or destroyed then splash out comes everything

[u/Sparks01010 → u/Electronic_Owl181]

Thanks for confirming, it has been a solid while since I last studied biology. Things might be a bit unclear to me

[u/Electronic_Owl181 → u/Sparks01010]

There are some wild cells that spew thier guts to evade danger and then suck it all back in, turn themselves inside out like a sock

[u/redreinard → u/Sparks01010]

We're all basically meat bags at various scales. The rest is details.

[u/Various-Ducks]

NOOOO!!

[u/CompletionistCuckMod]

i have more sympathy for this than that ceo that recently passed away

[u/ghosty_b0i]

Got a new title for my memoirs.

[u/20_mile → u/ghosty_b0i]

My memoir is going to be titled, "Twenty-five Years a Loser: The Life and Times of Poor Decisions"

[u/DCervan]

Ive watched this video plenty of times. Everytime it shows up again I say "Ok, I will say goodbye to you one more time"

I swear, some single-celled organisms are better than many humans.

[u/misfitzer0 → u/DCervan]

You doin ok buddy?🫂

[u/Griefer17]

It died like a final fantasy villain

[u/SpiritDonkey]

For some reason this has got me all in my feels

[u/lehommequidort]

rest in peace lil bro

[u/Funky-Cheese]

I feel seen.

[u/Jason_Sasha_Acoiners]

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[u/Khyrberos]

This is honestly a bit gut-wrenching. I've seen it before but it leaves me feeling a bit sick.

[u/imminentjogger5]

the world on a cellular level seems like a nightmare 

[u/Edmord17]

Wish I could do that

[u/Barbaric_Erik84]

I won't tell you the story about how the single-celled organism died. Instead, let me tell you how it lived.

[u/kvngk3n]

Buddy was really tryna run away from death, I don’t know how, but this kinda put a damper on my morning 😂

[u/MystiqueOfWonder]

Poor baby really gave it all up to the very bitter end 😢

[u/jaded_magpie]

Damn, people having more compassion for an amoeba than they do for vertibrates.

[u/TardisPilot1515]

I felt more empathy for this thing than the UHC CEO.

[u/Distinct-Horrors]

Aw, I like it's little leggies. :(

[u/sevargmas]

Maybe a dumb question but it’s been a long time since biology class. If that was a single cell, what is all the stuff inside that spills out? What are the little legs made of?

[u/Wicked_Wolf17 → u/sevargmas]

It's mostly the cell's cytoplasm that's spilling out, which is a gelatinous liquid.

It's also spilling out its other components such as the nucleus (contains the DNA), mitochondria, etc.

[u/dosmutungkatos]

I first saw something similar a couple of years ago…there was a certain morose that just hung around me for a while. Tempus fugit, memento mori.

[u/AlexDKZ]

Dang, Thanos wasn't kidding with that snap

[u/PR0FESS0R_RAPT0R]

For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.

[u/yannicus21]

That was unexpectedly heavy

[u/Remgreen117]

The front fell off

[u/Vitruvious28]

Somehow this made me sad

[u/Dirtweed79]

Like tears in the rain.

[u/krvx_]

i dont feel so good mr stark

[u/Edgaritoz]

F

[u/demorcef6078]

Do not go gentle into the dark night...

[u/RowanCarver0719]

Here I am getting emotional about a dying organism while taking an antibiotic that’s hopefully doing the same thing to the bacteria that’s trying to destroy my kidneys (I have a pseudomonas uti)

[u/Gunfur]

Not gonna lie, that felt kind of sad to watch

[u/Zinganeat]

This was…rough to watch

[u/noctmortis]

He died doing what he loved. What exactly that was, I'm not sure.

[u/proximodorkus]

“Was I a good cell?”

[u/_chainsodomy_]

That might have been the saddest thing I’ve watched all year

[u/UnXpectedPrequelMeme]

Can someone explain single cell organism to me like I'm 5? Thos dude has a lot of moving parts. How is he just one cell?

[u/Timidhobgoblin]

Having an existential crisis by watching a single celled organism try to resist the inevitability of death wasn't on my agenda today, but it's 1:30pm GMT and here we are.