Jewels of the microscopic world

[Magical Realist]

"Diatoms are one of the strangest and most common forms of life in the ocean. Diatoms are a type of phytoplankton, a group of very small plant-like organisms that live by floating in the ocean. They are plant-like because they photosynthesize sunlight, but unlike terrestrial plants their light absorbing pigments are brown, not green. This means that diatoms are distantly related to giant kelp and other brown algae. If you look under a microscope at almost any bit of seawater, you'll see plenty of brownish circular or banana-shaped spots- these are most likely diatoms. In fact, diatoms are so common and well-shaped that in the 19th century diatoms were used to test the quality of microscope lenses.

The unique and strange feature of diatoms is that they live in a glass house. Diatoms encase themselves in an outer cell wall called a frustrule which is composed of silica, or glass. These glass frustrules provide diatoms with structure and defense, but they are also extremely beautiful. Some high magnification pictures of diatom frustrules are shown to the right. The frustrules are riddled with pores, spikes, spines, and other features that can be less than a micrometer in size. These features are sculptured by the diatoms during their growth and are so consistent, despite being so small, that they can be used as taxonomic features to identity and group diatoms."==http://www-marine.stanford.edu/profiles/diatoms.htm

 

[Walter L. Wagner]

silicon metabolism is unusual in the biological world. scouring rushes (horese-tails, aka equisetum) also metabolize silicon.

diatoms were quite productive, leaving vast deposits over the globe of their outer shell that would drift to the bottom of the salt water and fresh water seas and form deep layers. these are mined extensively in Nevada and elsewhere as 'diatomaceous earth'. http://epminerals.com/products/diatomaceous-earth-2