Amoeba are fucking weird. Srsly.

[Kai]

http://catalogue-of-organisms.blogspot.com/2009/09/amoeba-much-wierder-than-you-think.html

The weirdness of the 5 species of Amoeba doesn't stop at pseudopods. Their DNA has over three hundred billion base pairs. That's 100 times more sequence than human (our DNA is around 3 billion base pairs). They have this radial stage where they turn into this spikey ball when detached from the substrate. Eukaryotes with absolutely no sexual reproduction; all reproduction of Amoeba species is by fission. There are these stellar aggregations of protein and RNA inside the nuclear envelope that no one has any clue what they do. Most of their biology remains completely unknown. Can you imagine how long it takes to sequence 500 chromosomes? 

WHAT HATH EMERGENCE WROUGHT?! 

[LMNO]

Reminds me of the end of Evolution.  In response to being napalmed, an alien life form (which evolves millions of times faster than humans*) reacts by evolving into an amoeba as large as a city block.

I, for one, welcome our new pseudopodic overlords.








*Don't bother thinking about that too hard.

[Richter]

TEKELI -LI!

Also; I'd love to know what they're doing with all the RNA.  Interesting stuff.