Tiny World

23 Splashes.

1. VirusA virus is a tiny bundle of genes inside a shell of protein, usually smaller than a bacterium.
2. BacteriophageA bacteriophage, or phage, is a virus that infects only bacteria, not people.
3. BacteriumA bacterium is a living thing made of just one small cell, with no nucleus: its DNA floats inside it.
4. Red Blood CellRed blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to every part of the body.
5. NeuronA neuron is a nerve cell, the kind of cell that carries messages around the brain and body.
6. Astrocyte" Astrocytes look after the neurons around them, and the ends of their arms, called end-feet, wrap around tiny blood vessels and help control how much blood flows by.
7. Animal CellCells are the tiny building blocks of every living thing, and the human body is made of tens of trillions of them.
8. DNADNA is the long molecule that carries the instructions for building and running a living thing.
9. White Blood CellWhite blood cells are the body's defenders: they find and clear away germs.
10. MicrogliaMicroglia are the brain's cleaners and guards.
11. DiatomA diatom is a single-celled alga with a shell made of silica, the material in glass.
12. TardigradeTardigrades, or water bears, are tiny animals, most about half a millimeter long, with a plump body and eight stubby legs that end in claws.
13. Pollen GrainPollen is a fine powder that flowers and cones make.
14. SnowflakeA snowflake starts high in a cloud, when water vapor deposits as ice onto a tiny speck of dust and grows into an ice crystal.
15. ChromosomeA chromosome is a long thread of DNA, wound up tight and packed small.
16. MitochondrionA mitochondrion is a tiny part inside a cell, often called the powerhouse of the cell.
17. ParameciumA paramecium is a living thing made of a single cell, shaped a bit like a slipper, that lives in ponds and puddles.
18. AmoebaAn amoeba is a living thing made of one soft cell with no fixed shape.
19. DNA to ProteinA gene is a stretch of DNA that spells out a protein.
20. Cell DivisionMitosis is how one cell becomes two with the same chromosomes.
21. ApoptosisApoptosis is a cell's tidy, programmed death: the body's way of removing cells it no longer needs, or that are damaged, without harming their neighbors.
22. PhagocytosisPhagocytosis means "cell eating".
23. Neuron SpecimenA textbook nerve cell on a lit microscope slide: dendrites, a cell body with its nucleus and Nissl bodies, a myelinated axon, and terminals.