Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What does a microbe experience when eaten alive? A peritrich ciliate blunders into a heliozoan trap, triggering what will be the final minutes of its life. This documentary takes you deep inside the microcosmos from the prey's point of view to reveal the tragic story of the hunted.
By exploring the biomechanics of single-cell organisms, cell biology, and the clinical reality of the microscopic predator/prey relationship, we witness a silent hunter lay out an inescapable fate. This is a look at the hidden complexity of microscopic survival and pond life under the microscope.
⏱️ Chapters
0:00 A Bad Day
0:22 Caught
1:39 Many Ways to Become a Victim
2:36 No Way Out
5:04 What We Really Saw
6:05 Hope
🙏 Acknowledgements
Thanks to Qassis Labs, who contributed clips used here with their permission. They retain copyright and ownership of their original material.
Qassis Labs: youtube.com/@qanunji
📚 Sources
Patterson, D. J. & Hausmann, K. (1981). Feeding by Actinophrys sol (Protista, Heliozoa): 1. Light microscopy. Microbios, 31: 39–55.
Sakaguchi, M. & Hausmann, K. (1998). Food capture and adhesion by the heliozoon Actinophrys sol. Protoplasma, 203: 130–137.
Suzaki, T., Shigenaka, Y., Watanabe, S. & Toyohara, A. (1980). Food capture and ingestion in the large heliozoan, Echinosphaerium nucleofilum. Journal of Cell Science, 42: 61–79.
Coyle, S. M., Flaum, E. M., Li, H., Krishnamurthy, D. & Prakash, M. (2019). Coupled active systems encode an emergent hunting behaviour in the unicellular predator Lacrymaria olor. Current Biology, 29(22): 3838–3850.
Lindemann, C. B. & Lesich, K. A. (2024). The mechanics of cilia and flagella: What we know and what we need to know. Cytoskeleton, 81(11), 648–668.
Vermeij, G. J. (1994). The evolutionary interaction among species: selection, escalation, and coevolution. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 25: 219–236.
Bicknell, R. D. C., Campione, N. E., Brock, G. A. & Paterson, J. R. (2025). Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals. Current Biology, 35.
#microcosmos #microbiology #pondlife #predator #prey
What does a microbe experience when eaten alive? A peritrich ciliate blunders into a heliozoan trap, triggering what will be the final minutes of its life. This documentary takes you deep inside the microcosmos from the prey's point of view to reveal the tragic story of the hunted.
By exploring the biomechanics of single-cell organisms, cell biology, and the clinical reality of the microscopic predator/prey relationship, we witness a silent hunter lay out an inescapable fate. This is a look at the hidden complexity of microscopic survival and pond life under the microscope.
⏱️ Chapters
0:00 A Bad Day
0:22 Caught
1:39 Many Ways to Become a Victim
2:36 No Way Out
5:04 What We Really Saw
6:05 Hope
🙏 Acknowledgements
Thanks to Qassis Labs, who contributed clips used here with their permission. They retain copyright and ownership of their original material.
Qassis Labs: youtube.com/@qanunji
📚 Sources
Patterson, D. J. & Hausmann, K. (1981). Feeding by Actinophrys sol (Protista, Heliozoa): 1. Light microscopy. Microbios, 31: 39–55.
Sakaguchi, M. & Hausmann, K. (1998). Food capture and adhesion by the heliozoon Actinophrys sol. Protoplasma, 203: 130–137.
Suzaki, T., Shigenaka, Y., Watanabe, S. & Toyohara, A. (1980). Food capture and ingestion in the large heliozoan, Echinosphaerium nucleofilum. Journal of Cell Science, 42: 61–79.
Coyle, S. M., Flaum, E. M., Li, H., Krishnamurthy, D. & Prakash, M. (2019). Coupled active systems encode an emergent hunting behaviour in the unicellular predator Lacrymaria olor. Current Biology, 29(22): 3838–3850.
Lindemann, C. B. & Lesich, K. A. (2024). The mechanics of cilia and flagella: What we know and what we need to know. Cytoskeleton, 81(11), 648–668.
Vermeij, G. J. (1994). The evolutionary interaction among species: selection, escalation, and coevolution. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 25: 219–236.
Bicknell, R. D. C., Campione, N. E., Brock, G. A. & Paterson, J. R. (2025). Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals. Current Biology, 35.
#microcosmos #microbiology #pondlife #predator #prey
