Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere
by Thomas Deerinck
A HeLa cell (also Hela or hela cell) is a cell type in an immortal cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951[2] from Henrietta Lacks, a patient who eventually died of her cancer on October 4, 1951. The cell line was found to be remarkably durable and prolific as illustrated by its contamination of many other cell lines used in research.
by Sung Hoon Kang and Joanna Aizenberg, Harvard University
" Tiny polymer fingers, each with a diameter 1/500th of a human hair, assemble around and hold tiny spheres. The image looks like marine plants in the sea. Scientists Sung Hoon Kang and Joanna Aizenberg created the image with a scanning electron microscope and then digitally enhancing color.
The hairs aren't attracted to the sphere chemically or magnetically but instead through capillary action. Capillary action occurs when fluids are drawn into other substances through cohesion. For example, when a towel is dipped into water, capillary action is the principle behind how the water gets absorbed or drawn into the towel. The finding demonstrates a new way of controlling the self-assembly of polymer hairs. This process can be potentially used in controlled drug delivery, or in self-cleaning materials, where these tiny fingers can capture or release dust particles/bacteria."
"Thrips are tiny insects, typically just a millimetre in length. Some are barely half that size. If that’s how big the adults are, imagine how small a thrips’ egg must be. Now, consider that there are insects that lay their eggs inside the egg of a thrips.
That’s one of them in the image above – the wasp, Megaphragma mymaripenne. It’s pictured next to a Paramecium and an amoeba at the same scale. Even though both these creatures are made up of a single cell, the wasp – complete with eyes, brain, wings, muscles, guts and genitals – is actually smaller. At just 200 micrometres (a fifth of a millimetre), this wasp is the third smallest insect alive* and a miracle of miniaturisation."
"A movie about microscopic life showing some of the freshwater microscopic fauna under high magnifications.
We are surrounded with various living creatures, but how often do we notice the tiniest ones and how small can they be? Such common but inconspicuous organisms like water fleas, seed shrimps, and hydras are less than a centimeter (0.4 inches) in size but they are very important components of the freshwater ecosystems."
