How to Survive the Microcosmos

[@vlogbrothers]

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

[@6B26asyGKDo]

poop bag boy

[@Oneirophrenic123]

Hey Hank (and John), could you please ask James which microscope the first one was the he used in the beginning? Which 170$ used ebay microscope did he get? Thanks for doing all the great content you two do and congratulations to all your success!

[@Larzsolice]

Please make a video using Schlieren photography. Please, please, please!

[@qownson4410]

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.

[@thegoodlistenerslistenwell2646]

Okay, well keep in mind, there is no perspective of the universe that allows you to see the universe. Even out side the universe you would be blind to the inner workings at the center by the dense layers and ever changing scenes. Your position is as good as anything.

[@goyonman9655]

@@thegoodlistenerslistenwell2646 Thank you Very much I get annoyed when people try to act all superior by talk of "tha *vastness* of the cosmos"

[@takashi.mizuiro]

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

[@bananharcos]

XD

[@alexaecho4273]

We would have to be single cell lol

[@jessehunter362]

there are family stories of a great-uncle who died of heatshock from that! cells exploding

[@imconfirmedaperson]

DONT SAY THAT

[@rotifer]

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

[@Mirage2000H]

Yeah, until you get eaten by a stentor.

[@brogan7659]

see ? it's that easy!

[@cambrown5633]

Step 3: Proliferate!

[@4r96]

I got a feeling that the dude behind Muscle Hank is also behind Rotifer.

[@otiscooper4089]

Like farmer

[@avariceseven9443]

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

[@TheRealFlenuan]

I feel exactly the same. I'd been waiting for something like this channel for a long time.

[@NewMessage]

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.

[@kuryaku5906]

Do you mean the lysozymes?

[@nerobernardino88]

She'll be writing the next tax code by age 18

[@jonclarke8397]

She could very well be right. Maybe apoptosis genes were triggered in the first one which made caspases that it leaked out and the other cell swam into them. Very plausible!

that happened.

[@the_egg_]

@ nothing ever happens

[@rotifer]

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

[@eggsbox]

NOBODY TOUCH THE LIKE COUNT

[@mmtigan]

There was no need for that comma.

[@thegoodlistenerslistenwell2646]

@@mmtigan what, do; you. mean" Why: would #You. Say. That.

[@kneesurgerytomorrow]

(**)

[@berryrich4559]

Sounds like you two need to be more trusting

[@AndrewMcWinger]

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

[@hugogo.678]

I love how peaceful this is

[@jakobraahauge7299]

He has such a soothing voice!

[@hugogo.678]

True ahah ;) It makes the contrast even better!

[@Tinyvalkyrie410]

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.

[@lst9701]

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

[@pattheplanter]

Poisoned harpoons might be more generally applicable than just in the microcosmos.

[@mimiteas]

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

[@veganpajamas4211]

Mimi Tea and at this size, to me its even more wonderful than what im used to

[@petalmagic8391]

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.

[@ChaosMagnet]

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.

[@X-Gen-001]

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.

[@BlaDeKke]

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

[@evilsharkey8954]

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.

[@HayTatsuko]

"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.

[@Nexus2Eden]

And you get mine for mentioning Marlin Perkins! OMG! Loved MoO's Wild Kingdom as a kid!

[@HayTatsuko]

@@Nexus2Eden I loved it when I was a sproutling.

[@abhi_k4867]

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

[@sophiarose03]

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

[@jake.cee12]

EY LACRYMARIA!!!

[@franznarf]

He did it

[@gardo135]

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!

[@eggsbox]

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

[@graphite2786]

I suppose you could compare it to a disemboweled person dancing around till all their innards moved back in place and their wound healed over! I'm quite amazed.

[@Hidemyname78]

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

[@user-ud9oj]

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

[@DavidBatson]

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

[@michaeldete9058]

Beste Dokumentation bisher, die ich bei KZbin sah! Vielen Dank dafür!

[@Sonderasf]

This channel is like SciShow asmr

[@HayTatsuko]

Produced and narrated by the same dude, yo. Hank Green FTW

[@Sai-oe6hx]

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

[@surprisinglyblank2392]

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

[@leejuicy]

Lysosomal enzymes are mostly active in acidic ph, so that is not very likely as ruptured lysosomal enzymes would not be very active.

[@shaikrehanaparveen8862]

maybe because of caspases?

[@jakobraahauge7299]

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! 💚

[@NikeaTiber]

@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.

[@salamilid7615]

Best content ever! Love everything about these videos

[@sklanman]

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.

[@mimiteas]

7:07 Wow! This is so impressive! 😍

[@rikiorikio9368]

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

[@Magmafrost13]

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

[@XxThunderflamexX]

The pictures in the textbook don't show the floaty motions of the microbes.

[@volodyanarchist]

Awesome stuff. Thank you!

[@ethanbarksdale7524]

The complexity of life at all scales is so fascinating.

[@bigchieftomato]

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

[@wyattgerlach2544]

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 🤙🏻

[@roadgoeseveron7128]

Thanks for the effort in all your episodes! Exactly the right thing in these times, stay safe

[@andrelin4345]

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

[@evilsharkey8954]

Andre Lin, rotifers can actually move quickly if they need to. Amoebae are slow but steady. I’ve seen video of a large amoeba slowly engulfing a pair of resting paramecia, which don’t recognize the threat until they’re completely surrounded, and then they freak out.

[@LimeyLassen]

The rotifer is sucking them in like a vaccuum cleaner.

[@wizzardofpaws2420]

I love this channel. Every single video is wonderful

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

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

[@Piccolo_Sun]

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

[@aves4081]

I really loved the beginning! Amazig corelation with macro world. We should always remember the microcosmos can be as much interesting as the being we see with our naked eyes.

[@suspence7207]

0:34 NO HANK you're not elderly. You're a wonderful young man ♥

[@alphaamoeba]

He's not talking about himself

[@willhepon1895]

It may seem that he is talking about himself but I doubt he is.

[@dazextralarge]

THank you people on the screen right now!

[@DSmith-ix1xf]

Wow - Great narrative! Thank You for a peek on how the other half lives.

[@fluffy24]

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

[@DennisEckmeier]

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

[@mylifeisajok3]

Great videos and i want one of those shirts when they get back in stock!

[@orionterron99]

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

[@DiamondSan7]

Boyo your voice is so soothing. I finna fall asleep to it

[@Jrez]

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.

[@doomedtolinger2213]

Most excellent; As above, so below. A true microcosm...

[@itzmedb8290]

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)

[@kiowa6057]

It's not often you see 1.3k likes with absolutely 0 dislikes, this is quality!

[@speedyguy8]

In regards to the contagious death, I would recommend checking the temperature of the fluids in that region. Another thing you might want to check is the acidity

[@Timok67]

You channel has introduced me to a brilliant world of life I had not known to exist. This inspires me to get a microscope of my own.

[@anthonybeers]

Can you recommend a book on how to do this kind of work? Preparing slides and observing microscopic life.

[@sabitbinhabib5369]

The narrator guy's voice is really soothing i often come here to calm myself down

[@TheF3AR98]

one of the best episodes thank you very much fellow microbiologists

[@meatballthetoad2242]

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

[@katiekane5247]

Ever watch Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't? You might like.

[@LouisGedo]

*Another amazing Journey Into the Microcosmos*

[@fancyobsession1803]

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?

[@ChrisBryer]

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

[@TMtheScratcher]

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?

[@djtrackyard1833]

Thank you everyone ! Thank you James .. thank you mr narrator.. btw what was that song from the death video ..

[@harshrakesh2838]

Glad to find this channel

[@lettuceturnipthebeets790]

3:52 It may be that Ciliate's membraine is being stretched and ripped apart at the moment by some kind of changes in surface tention or molecular adhesion.

[@HavanaWoody]

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.

[@Evolved_Skeptic]

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.

[@pinnacleexpress420]

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.

[@discomfort5760]

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.

[@kinglyzard]

Still, on one planet known of has a percentage of multicellular life that has even reached mega fauna in dimensions. Life thrives where it can and ekes along where the going is tough to nearly impossible. Out of all the trillions and trillions of stars in our galaxy, billions of those have solar systems. Millions of those planets are earthlike, and in favorable zones for life. Earth is just one planet, with a long history of outlandish life forms. Multiply that × millions and do the math. (I'm low balling like hell on my numbers. There are countless stars in this galaxy, and countless galaxies in the Universe.) I think the answer to Fermi's Paradox is distance.

[@MortenKvale]

I love this channel so much!!!!

[@kurtisboon7549]

Next level optics would be a camera that can match the motion of the microbes that could then produce a still image of things like the ciliate membrane repair

[@ColdCutz]

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

[@christopheb9221]

3:40 wouldnt this be because the content of the ruptured cell has things like enzymes that could destroy its cell wall

[@blobfishthedevourer3735]

Heres a very wild theory abaut that bursting ciliate: The porpuse of this reaction caused by another dead ciliate was distracting a potential predator that might have eaten this ciliate (just like the lizards tail but here its not caused by predator itself but rather by the remains of the potential predators meal)

[@randywatson8347]

Amazing footage.

[@Larzsolice]

That last scene was amazing. Was that a UV camera? Is there such a thing as Schlieren photography (streak photography) for microscopes? That would be crazy...

[@herauthon]

the spilling also emits certain cell disrupt signals - also affecting passing equals ?

[@saiyashbalaji657]

How'd you get that purple color at the end? I thought there was only bright and dark fields. Either way, that is so cool.

[@Rafael-no3gi]

the crossover between science yt and music yt no one asked for, but is god damn beautiful nonetheless

[@krislol6782]

This is so strange but fascinating

[@Lilybet1316]

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.

[@crimesacrosstheglobe1885]

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

[@SmokeyVlogs]

bro nice voice :P and thanks , super interesting visuals

[@magstamperchief5256]

Thank you.

[@maxxfioriti7494]

Have you tried fractionating the lysed components of the ciliates to see what is causing the membrane ruptures??

[@TheRealFlenuan]

Moments like 4:49 and 6:52 genuinely made my jaw drop

[@shiddy.]

these are great will you please consider making a video about endospores? thanks from Minnesota +sub

[@bingoberra18]

So do these things "think" or are they just reacting, and do they have a brain that does the calculus of reacting? If so, does it connect to nerves and muscles which in turn affects the small sprouts that seem to be the "swimming" parts? They look so simple but seem yet so intricate.

[@evilsharkey8954]

I’ve actually witnessed a pair of paramecia firing all of their trichocysts. They became trapped in a droplet outside of the cover glass, and the droplet dried too fast for me to rewet it. They desperately fired off their full salvos as the water meniscus pulled close, but it couldn’t save them from desiccation.

[@pinnacleexpress420]

Could we send in pond water samples?! If where they come from looks hella interesting??

[@devinnapoleon5674]

This channel should cover the duration of microcosmic life. How long do these creatures live for if they are not eaten? Do they age?

[@kevinerhartjr.273]

Request- pls highlight or visually indicate who or which creature ur talking about pls!!

[@sam21462]

I love this channel so damn much!

[@petergray2712]

Lacrymaeia is Latin for "swan tear".