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10-Centimeter Single-Celled Organisms Photographed 6 Miles Underwater
New submitter roat35 tips news that researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have used Dropcam — a relatively small, glass-walled device containing an HD camera — to make videos of lifeforms that exist in the Mariana Trench, more than six miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. One of the more interesting organisms at those depths is the Xenophyophore, a creature which, despite being single-celled, can grow to be over 10 centimeters wide.
"Scientists say xenophyophores are the largest individual cells in existence. Recent studies indicate that by trapping particles from the water, xenophyophores can concentrate high levels of lead, uranium and mercury and are thus likely highly resistant to large doses of heavy metals. They also are well suited to a life of darkness, low temperature and high pressure in the deep sea."
I can't be the only one thinking that an organism that is simple and can absorb heavy metals sounds almost too good to be true. Sounds like something that *could* be easy (in relative terms) to genetically modify for cleaning up toxic areas.
My neighbour's teenager absorbs great quantities of heavy metal every day (to the dismay of the entire neighborhood), doesn't seem to possess an IQ much higher than a single cell organism, lives in a toxic area he calls his "bedroom", and I can guarantee you no amount of genetic engineering is likely to convince him to clean it...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Could just be the next new item for celebrity chefs and sushi restaurants.
It doesn't surprise me all that much that the fattest single-celled organism on the planet lives in the deepest, darkest place on Earth and is a fan of heavy metal.
Easy, lets dump the contaminated material on the sea and call it food for Xenophyophores
Maybe Monsanto could ask some its folks to adapt hyacinth to make some kind of container like a gourd or coconut? Object would be to have the plant store its gathered heavy metals in there, then harvest the stuff maybe wearing a Bio-Suit?
Maybe we could just have Monsanto executives eat the heavy metals directly & save the rest of the world a lot of trouble...
>> How would we go about genetically modifying it to not require 6 miles of water ontop of it?
We could mate it with a Giraffe. Those don't have to be underwater to live.
Let's not get into that whole "who's xenophyophore is longer" thing, guys.
Someone had to do it.
These can be really dangerous if brought up to the surface. Because their deep habitat has such oppressive pressure, at sea level, they will have excess energy burn, since they are out of their native high-pressure environment. They could even become airborne, seek out humans for our body heat, and take control of their cortical systems. We will slowly go mad, unless Spock saves us.