I saw this photo in the most recent edition of Discover Magazine at the local library, and then I searched it out on their website (which by the was is fantastic,and totally one of my favorite Internet haunts). The image is of a water flea. Yep. Can you believe that? I sat there for at least five minutes trying to figure out if it was some kind of joke or something, but it's not. It's the real deal. And I think this little guy/gal...whatever, is pretty awesome (and I'm invoking the original sense of the word here, not the modern day meaning). The
article is short, but definitely worth the one minute it will take to read it. The other highlight the author points out is that these transparent little specks have about 5,000 more genes than we do! I don't know how that's possible, but there you have it. I swear that every single day I am more amazed by what life is, and how life does. It reminds me of that quote by the late Carl Sagan.
"I find it elevating and exhilarating to discover that we live in a Universe which permits the evolution of molecular machines as intricate and subtle as we." Although just for today I might replace the "we" with "a water flea".
On a slightly more humorous note for some reason the water flea photo instantly reminded me of this seedy plankton character that I saw on Sponge Bob. I looked it up and his name is Sheldon J. Plankton...LOL...
The second thing I thought of was Mike Wazowski.
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