A quick one today since I have been busy writing and researching stuff for a gothic fantasy novel. And generally possessed of some particular concerns as of late. Who can say why.

Bacteria and archaea are wonderful little creatures that come in all shapes and sizes, from microscopic blobs to macroscopic blobs (we'll get to some of those later). Sometimes you got ones that aren't shaped like blobs, though!

One such type of archaea are those of the genus Haloquadratum. These guys are shaped like squares! They tend to grow and adhere together, forming very thin sheets of archaea. They have a bunch of gaseous vacuoles inside to keep them at the surface of the water to help catch light, as they are photosynthetic. These can also be used as a propulsion mechanism.

These guys are also incredibly halophilic, or salt-tolerant. The numbers on this get kind of insane. Some brine pools have an ~80% density of H. walsbyi! Their weird, thin square shape confers a very high surface to volume ratio which allows them to survive with minimal other organic molecules. They produce the protein halomucin which seems to contribute heavily to their halophilic nature by secreting a sort of protective water bubble.

These can be found growing in some of the saltiest, most apparently "sterile" environments on earth, from brine pools to the Dead Sea to saltmaking pans. Bacteria and archaea constantly show us that virtually nothing on this earth is sterile. Even against the fiercest resistance, life can and will withstand. Become as the little square guys and refuse to die. Strain your body until you generate a cool new protein. Form an adhesive mat with your loved ones. Absorb the energy of the sun. Birth a new order.

Have a happy microbe monday! Many people write off microbes altogether as boring or uninteresting but I hope these posts can be a tiny little argument against that. Their beauty overwhelms me constantly. They show ways of being utterly alien from our own.