amoeba blog
Monday, January 10, 2005
Pound of Amoebae
"pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious organism on earth..."
amoeba also ameba (e-mê´be) noun plural amoebas or amoebae (-bê)
A protozoan of the genus Amoeba or related genera, occurring in water and soil and as a parasite in other animals. An amoeba has no definite form and consists essentially of a mass of protoplasm containing one nucleus or more surrounded by a delicate, flexible outer membrane. It moves by means of pseudopods. [New Latin, genus name, from Greek amoibê, change, from ameibein, to change.] - amoe´bic (-bîk) adjective
ameba (e-mê´be) or amoeba, one-celled PROTOZOAN in the phylum Sarcodina. Amebas constantly change their body shape as they form temporary extensions called pseudopods, or false feet, used for feeding and locomotion. Most amebas range from 5 to 20 microns in diameter. They engulf their prey (diatoms, algae, or bacteria) with their pseudopods, forming vacuoles in which food is digested by ENZYMES. Reproduction is usually by binary fission (splitting) to produce two daughter amebas, the nucleus dividing by MITOSIS; some also reproduce sexually. Amebas live in fresh and marine waters and the upper layers of soil. Many are PARASITES of aquatic and terrestrial animals, and some cause disease, e.g., amebic dysentery.
amoeba also ameba (e-mê´be) noun plural amoebas or amoebae (-bê)
A protozoan of the genus Amoeba or related genera, occurring in water and soil and as a parasite in other animals. An amoeba has no definite form and consists essentially of a mass of protoplasm containing one nucleus or more surrounded by a delicate, flexible outer membrane. It moves by means of pseudopods. [New Latin, genus name, from Greek amoibê, change, from ameibein, to change.] - amoe´bic (-bîk) adjective
ameba (e-mê´be) or amoeba, one-celled PROTOZOAN in the phylum Sarcodina. Amebas constantly change their body shape as they form temporary extensions called pseudopods, or false feet, used for feeding and locomotion. Most amebas range from 5 to 20 microns in diameter. They engulf their prey (diatoms, algae, or bacteria) with their pseudopods, forming vacuoles in which food is digested by ENZYMES. Reproduction is usually by binary fission (splitting) to produce two daughter amebas, the nucleus dividing by MITOSIS; some also reproduce sexually. Amebas live in fresh and marine waters and the upper layers of soil. Many are PARASITES of aquatic and terrestrial animals, and some cause disease, e.g., amebic dysentery.
posted by Charles Darwin # 8:44 AM 
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