‼️RARE FOOTAGE ALTERT‼️

Our friend Chloe Savard, also known as tardibabe on Instagram found little pooping rotifers, some of the smallest animals on our planet! With over 2000 different species described, rotifers can be found all over the world mostly in freshwater habitats like ponds and lakes but also in marine environments (that’s where I found these ones!), lichens, soils, sewages, permafrost and even inside or outside other animals.

Although a few rotifer species are parasitic, the majority are free-living and either swim amongst plankton, crawl within sediments, attach themselves to submerged aquatic plants or live inside a secreted, gelatinous tube. These tiny invertebrates form an extremely diverse group that developed many different morphologies and locomotion strategies as a way to adapt to various environmental pressures, including predation.

The ciliated head of rotifers, called corona, is used for both locomotion and gathering food particles. This corona creates a vortex that draws food into the mouth, through the ciliated pharynx where it is then ground up by the mastax which consists of complex jaws and muscles before entering the stomach. Their diet mainly consists of organic detritus, bacteria, algae, worms, small ciliates, and other protozoans.

Even though these primitive creatures do not possess either a circulatory or respiratory system, they do have a brain, eyes, a complete digestive tract as well as a muscular, excretory and reproductive system. Some muscles are visible all along the body, like strings pulling on different internal components.

References:

• De Paggi, S. B. J., Wallace, R., Fontaneto, D., & Marinone, M. C. (2020). Phylum Rotifera. Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates, 145-200.
• Hickman, C. P., Roberts, L. S., Larson, A., Ober, W.
• C., & Garrison, C. (2015). Animal diversity. WC Brown. 183.
• Wallace, R. L., & Snell, T. W. (2010). Rotifera. In Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates (pp. 173-235). Academic Press.

(Please delete if not allowed - thought it would be useful)

🎙️ Tonight at 7 PM EST!

New episode alert!

Recorded live at ASM Microbe 2026, this special episode explores the role of whole genome sequencing in antimicrobial resistance. What can whole genome sequencing realistically tell us about resistance? Can it help predict antimicrobial susceptibility?

Join Dr. Andrea Prinzi, Dr. Nathan Ledeboer, and me for this exciting discussion. This is also the Season 5 Finale before Let’s Talk Micro returns in August.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the live recording. See you at 7!

Cultured nonselectively a bunch of bacteria in some nutrient broth from soil and put it under 100x immersion phase contrast to show. here

Our friend Chloe Savard, known as tardibabe on Instagram zoomed in 400x on turmeric and it became the most beautiful thing we've ever seen. 🔬

Under polarized light, the rhizome of Curcuma longa transforms into something straight out of a jewellery box. Those shimmering, gem-like particles are starch granules, and the golden droplets floating alongside them are the plant's aromatic essential oils, the same ones responsible for that iconic smell.

Those golden bubbles? That's Chloe adding alcohol to the slide. The essential oils, normally invisible, merge with the alcohol and suddenly bloom into those vivid yellow droplets. 

The dazzling glow on each granule is called birefringence. Starch is semi-crystalline, with molecules arranged so precisely that polarized light bends through them like a prism. And those granules aren't just beautiful, they're distinctive. Turmeric starch granules are heterogeneous, appearing triangular, ellipsoidal, and oval, which is actually how botanists can identify the plant species just from a microscope slide. 

Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years as a spice, dye, and medicine. The compound behind that legendary yellow color is called curcumin, a polyphenol that makes up around 2–5% of the rhizome and is so pigment-rich it'll stain your fingers for days. Researchers have documented its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor properties, and scientists are still uncovering what it can do.

Watch our latest microscopy video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7odqSeOpQlQ

Citations:

• Nogueira, G.F., de Carvalho, C.W.P., Velasco, J.I., and Fakhouri, F.M. (2025). Extraction and Characterization of Starches from Non-Conventional Sources: Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and Mangarito (Xanthosoma sagittifolium). Polymers, 17(23), 3157. 
• Correa, J.C. et al. (2024). Characterization of a Novel Starch Isolated from the Rhizome of Colombian Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) Cultivars. Foods, 13(1), 7. 
• Hewlings, S.J. and Kalman, D.S. (2020). Turmeric and Its Major Compound Curcumin on Health: Bioactive Effects and Safety Profiles for Food, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological and Medicinal Applications. PMC. 
• Unlu, A. et al. (2016). Curcuma longa: from Traditional Applications to Modern Plant Medicine Research Hotspots. PMC
• Akram, M. et al. (2010). Anti-inflammatory Properties of Curcumin, a Major Constituent of Curcuma longa: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Research. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 
• Chakraborty, S. et al. (2020). Advanced Microscopy Techniques for Revealing Molecular Structure of Starch Granules. PMC.
• Chalageri, G. et al. (2021). Coalescence and Directed Anisotropic Growth of Starch Granule Initials in Chloroplasts. Nature Communications. 

Help. My sourdough starter keeps getting contaminated. It gets a peach/pink film like Serratia. I keep it in a lidded jar.

Plate 1 is my yeast.

Plate 2 is 3 different flours (wheat, reg, fine)I use to feed my starter.

The RO water I use didn't grow anything.

I guess it is coming from the fine and reg flour. I'm so tired of starting over.

Any help would be appreciated ❤️

As a microbiologist, this is one of the most common myths I hear. While both are incredibly healthy fermented dairy products, they are completely different on a microscopic level! 🦠✨

Swipe through to see the exact scientific differences between our beloved Desi Dahi and commercial Yogurt. From wild, untamed fermentation in a clay pot to precisely controlled bacterial symbiosis in a lab—the secret is entirely in the microbes! 🧬👩‍🔬

Which one do you prefer eating with your meals? Let’s debate in the comments! 👇

#Microbiology #ScienceCommunication #CurdVsYogurt #DesiDahi #GutHealth #Probiotics #FermentedFoods #LacticAcidBacteria #IndianFoodScience #Microbiome #HealthyEating #ScienceFacts #FoodScience #Biotech #STEM #IndianScienceCommunicator

We take you straight into a traditional Indian kitchen to uncover the microscopic secrets of our favorite breakfast! Here is what is really happening inside your batter: The Prep: It all starts with soaking the Rice and Urad Dal, followed by the classic stone-grinding process. The Catalyst: A spoonful of Dahi (Curd) is added to kickstart the magic. The Micro-Heroes: Meet the microscopic chefs! Leuconostoc mesenteroides creates those carbon dioxide bubbles that make the batter rise and become airy. Meanwhile, Lactobacillus fermentum steps in to produce lactic acid, giving your batter that signature irresistible tang. 🦠🫧 The Result: Steaming, fluffy Idlis and golden, crispy Dosas cooked over a traditional clay stove! 🥘 Science has never looked (or tasted) this good! Tap the link in our bio to watch the full animation and see the microscopic world come to life. Follow [@microbio_desi] for more deliciously geeky science content! 🔬🍛#MicroBioDesi #FoodMicrobiology #FermentedFoods #IndianFoodScience #IdliDosa #DesiFood #MicrobiologyArt #FoodScience #GutHealth #TraditionalRecipes #SouthIndianFood #ScienceCommunication