this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Big cells usually have multiple organelles of each type. They are less special than one would think, while being very strange indeed.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

this is the correct answer.

I'm betting their mitochondria are normal sized, they just have lots and lots of them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Isn't that true for all cells? I think human cells also have more than one mitochondria

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Some human cells have 0. But all have few.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I want to know what the texture is like on this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

It’s a plastic like feel, smooth. Mostly Tasteless. Filled with salty water, but outside is pretty thin and delicate and splits easily. Doesn’t bounce more than once. Most you find are quite small, pearl sized. Outside of water it tends to get wrinkly out of water for very long.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm more interested in the mouthfeel.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Asking the real questions,

Is that just a thick ass phospholipid bi-layer?

What’s going on here and can I eat that thing?

What does cytoplasm taste like?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

My hypothesis would be that, in order to keep that membrane taut, the internal salinity would have to be fairly close to the exterior salinity, otherwise it would shrink due to hypertonicity. That cytoplasm will probably just taste like slimy seawater

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Ahh so like sea cum? Nice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

They are actually called "Sea Men"

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 days ago

Of course it's for science. Now don't look while I probe it.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago

They are called 'sailors eyeballs'. Great name

[–] [email protected] 39 points 3 days ago

I wonder how much strength the cell membrane has? Does it pop easily, and if not, what prevents it?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

T H I C C Mitochondria!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago

This is one of the largest unicellular organisms, but as far as O know this is the largest:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringammina

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago

"Pondering my cell" just didn't have the same ring to it... Sounds like I'm suck in jail

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I feel the sudden urge to have a water balloon fight.

EDIT: This fucker is larger. Looks cooler, too.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Xenophyophores are multinucleate unicellular organisms found on the ocean floor

A multinucleate cell (also known as multinucleated cell or polynuclear cell) is a eukaryotic cell that has more than one nucleus, i.e., multiple nuclei share one common cytoplasm

There's stuff down there...

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

This algae ball also has multiple nuclei

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

So if you shake it, it will rattle?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They are fantastic. Some years ago I got a sudden urge (from seeing them on subreddits) to grow these in my aquaria, but then I looked at several aquarist forums and realized that I shouldn’t. Really shouldn’t. They kind of don’t seem like they need more habitats to thrive in.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Are they invasive or something?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 days ago

More like incredibly aggressive. They are a type of algae after all. If you don’t keep a firm leash on them they’ll reproduce enough to drain all the oxygen and nutrients from an enclosed system like an aquarium.

Plant tribbles, if you will.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

To give an exceptionally brief explanation:

  • Yes.
[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago
  • Ya

Not that exceptional.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

I suspect that they reproduce quickly, since it is a species of algae. I don't know much about this topic though.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago

An egg is the same thing, albeit much simpler

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

If you were to spit on it, would it pop?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I want to hold it. Where can I find it?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They appear in tidal zones of tropical and subtropical areas, like the Caribbean, north through Florida, south to Brazil, and in the Indo-Pacific. Overall, they inhabit every ocean throughout the world, often living in coral rubble.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Ohh. Why have never seen one before

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Why is this man in the ocean?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Oh my god, Outwit1294, you can't just ask someone why they're in the ocean!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Hey, they sent me a balls pic. And I can’t even ask why?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Is this how... we used to look at one point in history?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

it looks like a taut grape that's begging to be squeezed to burst.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

We're gonna need a bigger gel blaster.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

What does it feel like?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

And I thought megakaryocytes were huge.