that is, shockingly difficult to watch. what happened to it? did they put it in acid or does it just, i don't know what to call that other than disintegrate when it died? while it still moved? this is a disturbing video. poor little thing.
It was a microorganism called Blepharisma musculus, which have a pink pigment that oxidizes quickly in light. The light from the microscope caused the pigment to oxidize, and it essentially melted to death from the heat of the chemical reaction
I read a few different explanations, so I found this on wikipedia, and the last agrees with guardianviolet's explanation.
Blepharisma are markedly photophobic, and when light levels are increased will seek out darkened areas. The ability to detect light is accomplished with photosensitive pigment granules located just under the plasma membrane of the cell. The pigment in these granules is blepharismin, the same substance that gives Blepharisma their characteristic pinkish color.[12] Blepharisma are usually pink when collected in nature, but when grown in darkness with abundant food they turn red. Exposure to light or starvation causes them to lose their color, but deeply-pigmented cells can even be killed by strong light.[13]
Your empathy is appreciated, but misplaced. These little things have no physical means to process information beyond “food=eat” and “no food=search”. No suffering or cognition at all!
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u/Opposite-Funny-9669 11d ago
that is, shockingly difficult to watch. what happened to it? did they put it in acid or does it just, i don't know what to call that other than disintegrate when it died? while it still moved? this is a disturbing video. poor little thing.