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Giardia, the happy intestinal parasite 8D
14 years ago
"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." - Terry Pratchett
I am currently taking Parasitology, and right now we're investigating the exciting world of intestinal bugs. You can imagine my surprise/elation when my teacher put up a picture of what Giardia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia_lamblia) looks like:
Actual under-microscope picture: http://www.pathobio.sdu.edu.cn/sdjs.....oph%281%29.jpg
The textbook's diagram of the two major reproductive stages: http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/d.....%20drawing.jpg
The two "eyes" are nuclei, and the smiling "mouth" is the median body, a supportive structure.
The man who first observed the happiest parasite ever was Leeuwenhoek, the guy who honed the abilities of microscopes. Once he'd perfected microscopy so that he could observe minute details of life, what do you think he immediately decided to look at? His own poop, of course. And when he cast his eyes for the first time upon his own excrement, Giardia was smiling up at him. 8D
Seriously, science is the best thing ever. You can't make this shit up. XD
Actual under-microscope picture: http://www.pathobio.sdu.edu.cn/sdjs.....oph%281%29.jpg
The textbook's diagram of the two major reproductive stages: http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/d.....%20drawing.jpg
The two "eyes" are nuclei, and the smiling "mouth" is the median body, a supportive structure.
The man who first observed the happiest parasite ever was Leeuwenhoek, the guy who honed the abilities of microscopes. Once he'd perfected microscopy so that he could observe minute details of life, what do you think he immediately decided to look at? His own poop, of course. And when he cast his eyes for the first time upon his own excrement, Giardia was smiling up at him. 8D
Seriously, science is the best thing ever. You can't make this shit up. XD
This was just nature playing a joke on this guy. I mean, after all, how could such a happy cell be hurting him?