Skip to main content

Diatoms

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


Image of the Week #66, October 31th, 2012:From:Some sights about the microbial world by Psi Wavefunction at The Ocelloid. Source: Psi Wavefunction Sometimes in the quest for study and data, beauty appears. Or, as Psi Wavefunction of The Ocelloid put it; "just glimpses of the microbial world, which was a fancy way of saying 'they looked kinda pretty on my screen'". Here is a pair of diatoms, microscopic phytoplankton with a beautiful structure made of silica, found in an alpine pond north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada nestle together, expertly captured in a tiny moment by Psi. View her post for what are normally invisible moments of beauty that happen all around us.