The Hidden Beauty of the Microscopic World: What the tiniest forms of life can tells us about existence and our place in the universe

by James Weiss

Overview

The videographer behind the Journey to the Microcosmos YouTube channel (386K subscribers) James Weiss presents a beginner's guide to the extremely small and utterly strange life that surrounds us.

James Weiss was feeling lost in life when he first discovered his interest in the microscopic world. With his own microscope and a little homespun ingenuity, he began to capture thousands of hours of stunning footage of the creatures that he found around him: the local pond, at the beach, in a puddle. What he found astounded him, and it became his mission to reveal the beauty of the microcosmos to everyone.

In his fun and accessible style, interspersed with otherworldly photographs, James presents this beginner's guide to the invisible life that surrounds us. From the most simple single-celled life, to complex micro-animals, James reveals the secrets of a world that we rarely consider. Navigating the births, feasts, tragedies, idiosyncracies and deaths of a cast of tiny characters, learn how these lifeforms work and what lessons they can teach us about our own existence. Mixing scientific detail with thoughtful musings that betray the fascination at the heart of his topic, James has created a way of looking at microorganisms in an empathetic and engaging style.

You'll discover fascinating absurdities: that a cell can be both its own daughter and its own mother. That immortality really does exist, and it comes in the form of a teeny, tentacled medusa. And that seeing the wonder of nature from a new perspective can literally save your life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786784490
Publisher:	Watkins Media
Publication date:	06/08/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	296,420
Product dimensions:	8.15(w) x 8.13(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

James Weiss, also known as Jam's Germs, is the videographer for the hugely popular Journey to the Microcosmos YouTube channel, which has over 500,000 subscribers.

Table of Contents

Welcome to the microscopic world! 9

Part 1 Prokaryotes 21

Life in syrup 29

Bacterial parasites of Paramecium 34

Beggiatoa and Achromatium 40

Cyanobacteria 44

Nostoc 50

Dolichospermum 54

Foundations of life 57

Part 2 Unicellular eukaryotes 59

Desmids 63

Green euglenids 72

Diatoms 82

Asterionella and Baciilaria paxillifer 86

Golden-Algae Synura 88

Spirogyra 92

Pediastrum 94

Ciliates 96

A mysterious ciliate 98

Stentors 102

Paramecium 114

Nassula 120

Lacrymaria olor 122

Actinobolina 126

Loxodes 130

Didinium 135

Dileptus 138

Suctorians 143

Vorticella and other peritrich ciliates 146

Blepharisma 150

Coleps 155

Ophryoglena 156

DIC microscopy 160

Amoeboids 162

Vampyrella 164

Pelomyxa 165

Naegleria fowleri 166

Testate amoebas 168

Foraminifera 171

Myxomycetes 175

Water moulds 178

The unique unicellulars 180

Part 3 Multicellular eukaryotes 183

Nematodes and Fungi 187

Amoebophilus simplex 193

Daphnia 198

Gastrotrichs 206

Hydra 210

Rotifers 218

Tardigrades 226

Meet Amelia the water bear 244

Surviving is not living 248

References 252

Resources 252

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

 The copious images in this companion guide are no less enchanting, and Weiss’ text fills in the background that the author can’t always cover in his 10-minute YouTube episodes. . . . This approachable guide to another universe, as close as the nearest microscope, should appeal to general readers."
— Alan Moores, Booklist

From the Publisher