• Eiri@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    20 days ago

    Whoa, my optometrist told me that’s what they are and now I’m really disappointed.

    Considering their shape and what you said about them being impossible to observe in visible light… I guess those branch-like pieces are cell organelle fragments instead?

    Dang, and here I was excited to be seeing molecules.

    • Flax@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      20 days ago

      You can see cells with the naked eye as well. Notably, eggs. Chicken eggs are also one cell. The largest cell is an ostrich egg.

      • frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        20 days ago

        There are amoebas that reach 5mm in length.

        IIRC, there are limits on how big they can get based on how far RNA can travel after copying DNA.

        • Flax@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          20 days ago

          Eggs are still bigger. I think you can actually see human eggs with the naked eye, as they are the width of a hair. Would probably need to be placed on a contrasting surface, though, and appear as a tiny speck