Tuesday, December 02, 2008

That's One Big Amoeba





The New York Times has an interesting article about a giant 1.5 inch diameter amoeba (Gromia sphaerica) that can roll itself along the ocean floor. That's pretty big for a single celled organism! I wonder what the biggest 'single cell' is? I guess for length you'd have to go for a blue whale neuron ... For size? An Ostrich egg perhaps (if you can include gametes). Interesting that whale ova are smaller than ostrich ova- this is probably the whole point of a placenta.
Why are we happy to eat the ova of chickens but not rooster semen? I wonder what Gromia tastes like?


Other Food Things I Wish I Could Forget:

1. eggs are chicken ova

2. gelatine is made from boiled animal bones and skin.

3. musk comes from a gland near the anus of deer.

4. the bacteria responsible for stinky cheese is also found between the toes.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:34 AM

    Thank you very much for this knowledge ;(

    ReplyDelete

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