Some Amoeba Make Armor From Their Dead Enemies

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This amoeba has a shell around it, which seems like a pretty good idea. The world at large is full of predators, and shells seem like a straightforward strategy to ward those predators off. But what if this amoeba’s shell wasn’t just a form of protection? What if it was actually dangerous?
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Journey to the Microcosmos is a Complexly production.
Find out more at www.complexly.com
SOURCES:
www.sciencedirect.com/science... ↩︎
ucmp.berkeley.edu/protista/te... ↩︎
arcella.nl/difflugia-new-shel... ↩︎
www.researchgate.net/publicat...

[@journeytomicro]

Try Honey With Superpowers™ - Head to manukora.com/MICROCOSMS to get 3 FREE Gifts with your Starter Kit - a $25 value!

[@matt-sauer]

Heads up that link gives a 404

[@the_hanged_clown]

link is broken leads to a 404 page!

[@sanasananee]

There's an O missing from your link...

[@johannaverplank4858]

I got the 404 page not found as as well

[@theunknownunknowns5168]

The manuka tree, where the honey comes from, is pretty special it has anti septic qualities, you can use leaves as a tea, it makes very good firewood, it is a fairly hard wood so if you need to donk something manuka is your tree. If there's a Aotearoa tree of the year competition I'll vote manuka. Also my favourite honey by far, like clover go home!

[@my-alias-obviousleh]

A suit of armor you can live in, only to emerge if you need something from the outside world - sounds like a house

[@haaather7131]

Yeah, but that house is made out of the bones of your victims/enemies.

[@thorr18BEM]

​@@haaather7131that's my preferred construction material.

[@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x]

​@@haaather7131 1. It only makes it cooler 2. So do we in many cases. Many ice age tents were made of mammoth tusks and ribs, held together by sinew, covered with animal skin. Modern primitive equivalents exist. Or think Inuit kayaks. Bows also made from animal materials so even weapon is made from prey. How is it different?

[@aj.j5833]

@@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x My homes is made from corpse of trees.

[@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x]

@@aj.j5833 now that you mention it that's also true. Not to mention furnitures, even MDF and related boards are wooden. And we burn millions of year old animal and plant carcass juice all over the place. Not to mention how British people used to fuel their steam trains with and made brown paper bags out of Egyptian mummies... Although they didn't killed them, I'm pretty sure they would have if they could have.

[@NewMessage]

But when *I* decorate myself with the corpses of my enemies....

[@jack-uv6mt]

they never let you forget it..

[@sciencenerd7639]

1:05 critter in bottom left corner does best impression of thrown koopa shell

[@mattchagnon5620]

Ha, nice!

[@evilsharkey8954]

So there’s a cool story involving manuka honey. Anyone hear about Casper, the Great Pyrenees that took on a pack of eleven coyotes to protect his flock of sheep and managed to kill eight of them? Well, he was pretty torn up after the battle, and a patch of skin was missing that they couldn’t just stretch other skin across. The vets used manuka honey to keep the wound from getting infected while new skin grew under the sterile dressing. It’s that good!

[@TheWretchedOwl]

I can’t tell if this is an example of “the best defense is a good offense” or “the best offense is a good defense”

[@evilsharkey8954]

“The world is large and full of dangers” I see what you did there.

[@PondScummer]

Just bought the channel soundtrack to help me sleep when this channel ceases. Tonight, I'm going to be having existential dreams about little beings.

[@stax6092]

I'm gunna miss this channel so much.

[@Autrone]

I would love you guys to do a dedicated video on dinoflagellates - especially the ones that glow! It will be awesome for you to discuss their predator-prey dynamic that most likely made them glow!

[@Beryllahawk]

Honestly I feel like I could look at pictures of these shelled amoeba for hours. They're kinda like fractals, just so mesmerizing in the patterns and shapes. And especially with James doing SUCH a lovely job with the way he uses light and filters. They look like tiny works of art!

[@DataSoong101]

Hello literally anyone from the microcosmos team! Can I steal "The Germ House" as a title for a microscopy channel I'm thinking of making someday? I really like it.

[@illustriouschin]

Copyright it before somebody else does.

[@Lessinath]

File copyright for it. It isn't expensive, in a lot of cases it will even cost you nothing. If someone else already owns the copyright they will either tell you, or if they don't know (copyright offices are not omnipotent all knowing entities, for the better) you can reasonably say that you didn't know in good faith and it will likely turn it into a matter of "change your name" instead of "get your pants sued off." With that said, I strongly recommend doing your due diligence in making sure no one else owns the rights before you use it to that name is a good idea. But file the paperwork for copyrighting it in an official way now, the worst that will happen is you get told no or it doesn't count if someone else owns it already.

[@ProjectAthens144]

Dude, take it and honor them.

[@DataSoong101]

@ProjectAthens144 That's what I'm saying.

[@Lichen8404]

​@illustriouschin they don't need copyright paperwork, it's their channel and their content. It's instant copyright at least in the US where youtube is based and gets most of its policies

[@StayPrimal]

You guys are amazing! Thank you to the entire team for the video.

[@erikdahl6861]

That's fuckin metal as hell

[@red..riding..hood..]

Heck yeah it is

[@marilynlucero9363]

The Microcosmos is Metal as hell.

[@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x]

We live in a metal world.

[@theeyeofomnipotent]

​@@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x litterally, in astrophysics anything above helium is metal, so we're all metal 😎

[@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x]

@@theeyeofomnipotent And our very own blood is very metal in every sense or definition of perception of the word. 🤘🏻

[@Lessinath]

Unironically saying this and no I'm not a bot, lol. I am glad I listened to your sponsor segment instead of skipping it normally because I was just thinking of getting some honey from the store later today. Maybe be I'll ordering some online instead. I see it isn't cheap but it's not actually expensive so that's okay, and it would be a one time thing, and I don't actually use honey that often or very much and even a very small jar will last me a year or more. I don't buy into any of the borderline pseudoscience stuff about it being a better antibacterial than normal honey or stuff like that, though, I just want something tasty. This comment is stupid and I'm sure you don't really care and I think there's a good chance I'll get hate for posting a comment like this but I'm doing it anyways. It's probably the caffeine in my veins. The hate for ads is mostly justified, considering how obnoxious and intrusive most ads or sponsors on the internet are, and I travel most places on the internet or even YT with an adblocker and the sponsorblock plugin myself, and for good reason. However, yours are in the same smooth voice you use for the rest of the video, and this is normal for this channel so even though it is an ad, it was still perfectly listenable. That's actually the only reason I have sponsorblock turned off for your channel, lmao. It's normally not bad because its an ad, it's normally bad because it is intrusive. This wasn't. Thank you for being better than most of the internet, and I'll be very sad when this channel stops putting up new content at the end of the year. You will be missed, for many reasons. As far as the video itself, I had no idea that microorganisms could do this, and I really wonder how this behavior evolved and how something with no brain that is effectively a bio-robot can manage it at all. But, I say that after half of your videos, as I'm a geologist not a biologist. If I see microorganisms in my microscope, they are generally just a shell and haven't moved in millions of years. P.S. I bought one of your microscopes a while back. In practice I use it for thin slices of rock more than I use it for biology, such is the life of a geologist, but it's still super cool and super easy to use compared to my old one, which was actually from the 1960s. Given my energy level typing this, I think I had too much coffee this morning, so I'll stop now or I will type-ramble about tangentially related stuff for hours and waste your time reading it. If you (or anyone else who might be reading the comments) actually reads this, I hope you have an awesome day!

[@omatic_opulis9876]

for some reason, most of the shells look incredibly appetising to me, i imagine they're very sweet and crunchy, almost like microscopic rock candy.

[@emanu1674]

Babe, wake up! New Journey to the Microcosmos video just dropped!

[@eewilson9835]

I was scared they were done!

[@itsprobablyryan]

I don't have a babe tho :(

[@eewilson9835]

@@itsprobablyryan lol :(

[@red..riding..hood..]

@@eewilson9835me too!! I’m so glad they’re rolling out more videos before leaving

[@eewilson9835]

@@red..riding..hood.. So much to learn, so little time left!

[@eewilson9835]

I want you to reduce the material used in your shell is the new phrase for "open up".

[@garywait3231]

One of the best nature programs on UTube. Thanks.

[@playmaka2007]

Sad to see this show go, I've enjoyed every episode.

[@Roguefem76]

Who knew that amoeba were so metal? 🤘

[@heavymetalbassist5]

Thanks Hank and company!!

[@oafkad]

When this series is over, any plans to make a DVD set or something for it? Would love to put it on my shelf and whip it out like I do Cosmos.

[@al3k]

More journeys!?!?! Most excellent. :)

[@evilsharkey8954]

They’re going to finish out the year, I think.

[@al3k]

@@evilsharkey8954 ah ok :(

[@MDSBock]

Pretty cool... Thank you for making the video and also like how you put the magnification n the size on each slide, thanks again...

[@Bonerfiesta]

I want a soulslike video game about microbes now ;w;

[@labren]

Amoeba has evolved into crab?!

[@4124V4TA-SNPCA-x]

Crabs are the ultimate animal life form after all. 😉

[@gaeshows1938]

That’s like a cannibal wearing someone else’s skin

[@user-vw4xp5nt9f]

oh hey, like the junkbug! glad to see this is a trait shared by both micro- and macro-organisms

[@user-vw4xp5nt9f]

actually. i havent watched yet. will see more later

[@user-vw4xp5nt9f]

but the junkbug makes armor from its dead prey! it's covered in ant exoskeletons and shit

[@lmv2s]

Awesome video. Full of insight and perspective. I'll watch it when I have time.

[@zacharywong483]

Super great footage here!

[@theperfectbotsteve4916]

this is my kind of Amoeba

[@LensIsDead]

"Don't Amoeba, Open Inside"

[@nariu7times328]

tardigrade honey jars - million dollar idea?

[@LontonRulez]

I wonder if you can try to turn the microscope sideways so we can get a side view of different microbes.

[@objective_psychology]

This actually blew my mind!

[@kthfox]

It uses its glued together shell as an exoskeleton. Amazing.

[@sallyweiner4180]

Love this channel ❤

[@1.4142]

6:50 dunkin

[@dregoth0]

Testate Amoeba, the tiniest snails.

[@alppn]

So, you're telling me that some amoebas acquired hard exoskeleton and then proceed to use a part of said shell them as a mean of catching their prey? Oh god, are they too turning into crabs?

[@davidgraham114]

Im still shocked this channel with over 800k subscribers has never been profitable. These vids must be super extensive to make.

[@squiddies_]

i thought that thumbnail was a small island with a runway

[@Yezpahr]

Amoebas are the most interesting microbe in my opinion. Their amorphous shape goes well with their ambiguous lifestyle. Just doing whatever, for however long, it's fine pretending to be a rock and also fine pretending to eat one.

[@sanathansatya1667]

Brilliant scientific work.

[@tomholroyd7519]

oooohh so they don't just move by changing the internal diffusion constants (although they probably do that to0) but they have a cytoskeleton of sorts they can use to suck things into vacuoles etc

[@sorrowfulstargazer764]

im adding this to my dnd campaign

[@willmendoza8498]

Best science show on the platform.

[@Charity4Orphans]

This is feeling more like the old days 😃 Welcome back 😄

[@toybugcarl]

Is there or could you do a video about how single celled organisms “think”? They’re moving around and eating and making shells but how? Please and thank you.

[@lunkel8108]

Unfortunately that happens on a scale too small to really see with light microscopes, so I kind of doubt they'll make an episode like that. The basic idea is that it's all proteins turning each other (or their production) on or off. You have tons of receptors (proteins) of all kinds inside and outside the cell to gather information about its environment and internal state. These regulate proteins, which regulate proteins, which regulate other proteins, etc. This way many different pieces of sensory input can be integrated, amplified, compared, etc. and you can generate all kinds of complex behavior. You can search stuff like "cell signalling pathways" and look at some of the images to maybe get a simplified idea of what these tend to look like.

[@oneshotme]

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@xuedi]

Are all elements flat due to the two glass plates (squeezed), or are all the thingys acually 3D and just the focus point in in the middle and they are transparent'ish? I would imagine between the two glass plates for 20 micrometers there must be lots space for up and down, but i never see that in microspope videos ...

[@jacobgarcia7918]

Bro looks like an aerial view of farmland in the thumbnail.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

Monster Hunter Wilds lookin crazy rn

[@gph2193]

Sort of an Amoeba form of a Halgramite.

[@hunterklein9892]

This is rad

[@eggsbox]

i'm so sad this channel is shutting down man

[@AnglophobiaIsevil7]

Brutal

[@greyarea6688]

Farmers of Maunka honey can not guarantee "single origin" in the same way that coffee growers or chocolate growers can. There is no way to know for certain if bees did not bring nectar in from other flowers, they can try to limit it but they can not guarantee it and "single origin" or "monofloral" are both marketing lies.

[@PondScummer]

Hi, kiwi here. I live in an area that's used for manuka honey. I'd say it is in-fact possible to get single-source manuka, due to how manuka strands grow. You'll have miles and _miles_ of remote scrubland in where the only major flowering plant is manuka, usually over bogland. If you place your hives there you'll likely only get manuka, and maybe a tiny percentage of clover. They usually test the purity and are able to confirm it's manuka from a couple unique biomarkers. Manuka honey that has other field-flower composition is lower rated and I always see it advertised as being mixed. Although I don't doubt there's fraud in some unscrupulous honeys sellers trying to cash in. Honestly manuka honey is rather overrated, it's extremely harsh on the throat and is only really good as a wound dressing.

[@draconisdemiurge]

dam i didnt know godrick the grafted reincarnated as an amoeba

[@AnimeGamerCreater]

This is how snails r made

[@jackdare]

Amoeba smarter than doggo :/

[@dreyhawk]

I just don't normally put amoeba and strategize in the same sentence. 🤔

[@SubtleMischief]

Thanks for a fantastic video! All hail the Algorithm!

[@AbeYoung]

Im still very sad this channel is ending

[@NagaEvolution]

Did you hear about the nitroplast?

[@DataSoong101]

No

[@PondScummer]

Utterly insanely cool discovery that has the potential to change the future course of humanity for the better

[@NagaEvolution]

@@PondScummer Ik not only does this revolutionize endosymbiotic theory but it also potentially provides a way for plants to produce their own nitrogen(although that is pretty far fetched, it is pretty cool to think about)

[@Elizabeth_the_Loaf]

Can we please have the music?

[@kx4532]

Put the Manta Honey in your java

[@mattchagnon5620]

I am so distraught over this channel ending.

[@thomasrogers8239]

Unfortunately "tests" is not the plural of this word. I'm gomna miss this channel.

[@CooleyMediaProductions]

Sad this channel will be coming to an end soon 😢

[@lyn_shallash]

MY AMOEBA IN BIO

[@kx4532]

Make water bear honey

[@fertfert4661]

Why my guy so agressive today?

[@evilsharkey8954]

I noticed you’re using “amoeba” instead of “amoebas” for the plural now. How come you never use “amoebae”? It’s such a fun word so say “uh mee bee”.

[@Cutiejuliya]

❤

[@theshermantanker7043]

Man, I'm early

[@mikecodner7444]

Testate on steroids :)

[@ymotle]

the last of us bring me here (?)

[@markmuller7962]

And this channel is going to close? I hope it's a joke

[@wcdeich4]

Wow that music is annoying. But I'm super sensitive, so it's probably just me.

[@scriptorpaulina]

Anybody know how to write into thermo-fisher or Thor labs to give this channel one last chance? With that said, I love you guys. Thank you for that last few years 🫂

[@brendakrieger7000]

I will really miss this channel🔬🦠