http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFQ_fO2D7f0&feature=player_embedded
Heres something to build up the new massive topic to be.... microbial existence....
Taking a look at yet another single-celled life form: the Phytoplankton. Before I comment more on this heres what the dependable wikipedia has to say:
The name plankton is derived from the Greek adjective πλαγκτός - planktos, meaning "errant", and by extension "wanderer" or "drifter".[1] Plankton typically flow with ocean currents. While some forms are capable of independent movement and can swim hundreds of meters vertically in a single day (a behavior called diel vertical migration), their horizontal position is primarily determined by the surrounding currents.
Hmm...thats a cool definition i'd associate with freelancers too....'typically flow with the current', 'wanderer' 'drifter'...The phytoplanktons are unique singular cellular life forms that are auto-trophic....self-sustaining, self-reliant...they can get their energy from sun....They create nutrients for not just themselves but the entire lifecycle's food web. How useful is this non-descript creature (for the human eye) and yet play the role the foundation of life on earth....??? Mind blowing revelation....:)
Images from Wikipedia....illustrating multitudinous forms of planktons/ diatoms and the fascinating form of the phytoplankton. Reminding me of the ocean of industries inhabited by creatures big, small (organisations/ corporations) and a whole range of microscopic organisms (the freelancers in all shapes/sizes/and capabilities).
Heres another video that gives a glimpse of the variety of single celled organisms...http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_vid_singlecell/
Interestingly Wiki cites this: "Historically simple single celled organisms have sometimes been referred to as monads."
Yet another coincidence....MONADS (single celled organisms)...anagram for NOMADS (freelance professionals)...:)
A little more research has revealed that not all single-celled species need to be microscopic....well they resemble some stellar genius freelancers who actually have a large presence. Heres a list of some that are quite contrary to the image of a single-celled organism:
- Xenophyophores are the largest examples known, with Syringammina fragilissima achieving a diameter of up to 20 cm.[3]
- Valonia ventricosa, of the class Chlorophyceae, can achieve a diameter of 1 to 4 cm.[4][5]
- Thiomargarita namibiensis is the largest bacteria, achieving a diameter of up to 0.75 mm.
Delving into some history....
Reconnecting with the serendipitous mention of truth in Jainism from the last post....it is indeed exciting to know that the knowledge of microscopic species has not been a recent one..
Although popular western sciences dub Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch trader and scientist as the 'Father of Microbiology', because of the invention of his proprietary microscope to see minutiae of life in 1675ACE....
...it is the Jain philosophy that established the knowledge of microbes in the universe as early as 6the cent. BCE. The Jains referred to them as 'Nigoda'. My wikisearch shed light on this: "nigodas which are sub-microscopic creatures living in large clusters and having a very short life and are said to pervade each and every part of universe, even in tissues of plants and flesh of animals."
Jainism forces me to look at the microbial existence from a spiritual perspective...one that is not an ideal to pursuit but a stepping stone to greatness...the microbial life is as if a struggle and yet an opportunity for attaining greater hieghts...heres why....." the Nigoda is a realm existing in which the lowest forms of life reside in endless numbers, and without any hope of release by self-effort.....According to Jain tradition, it is said that when a human being rises to this state after death and achieves liberation (Moksha), another from the Nigoda is given the potential of self-effort and hope."
To be continued.....
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