Micro Life: Miracles of the Miniature World Revealed (DK Secret World Encyclopedias) (Packaging may vary)

**Explore the miracles of the microscopic world.** Find out all about the unique and beautiful kingdoms of life at a microscopic scale and how every organism meets the challenges of survival no matter its size. The perfect book for people who enjoy photography, nature and biology. **Inside the pages of this exciting educational nature book, you'll find:** - Microscopic life-forms (often neglected), and their life-forms in extreme close-ups, revealing details such as nerve cells and hair follicles. - Artworks support the beautiful images, providing a deeper insight into structure and function and building a picture of how living organisms work at a microscopic level. - Comprehensive coverage of the natural world, including all the main groups of living things. - Explores overlooked groups that have a huge role in the natural world: insects, which make up 80% of the world's animal species, and bacteria - of which there are more in a human mouth than there are people in the world. - The book is organized according to the main functions of life: movement, reproduction, energy and feeding, sensing the surroundings, defense, etc. - Optional 80-page section containing a catalog of the major kingdoms of life. **The beauty of nature under a microscope** Explore the inhabitants of an invisible world in incredible detail with this book, which contains macro photography and spectacular microscope imagery. You'll have so much information about the hidden world of intricate structures beyond the naked eye. From the tiniest spiders and insects to even microscopic creatures like bacteria and viruses, this book contains it all! See the beauty of a pollen grain, a butterfly egg, the spore of a fungus and a human's nerve cell in extreme close up. The amazing imagery in __Micro Life__ contains focus-stacked macro photographs and micrographs (microscope images), including scanning electron micrographs. Illustrations in this book explain the science - from the workings of an insect's eye to how a plant "breathes" through its leaves. __Micro Life__ is an unexpectedly breathtaking look at the natural world. Find out how life works and how organisms solve the fundamental problems of movement, reproduction, energy, communication and defense. This book belongs on the bookshelves of schools, libraries and homes for those interested in photography, nature or biology. contents introduction scale in the micro world types of living organisms macro life up close getting nourishment solar-powered microbes absorbing light root hairs topping up nitrogen fixing nitrogen bacteria Escherichia coli damaging a host absorbing food Penicillium engulfing prey microbial predator stinging cells feeding on particles connecting mouthparts insect mouthparts blood sucker drinking sap rasping food venomous pincers predigesting prey food into the bloodstream living in the gut spinning webs neither animal nor plant eating wood powering the body energy release using oxygen mineral energy fermentation energy poisoned by oxygen gas exchange breathing tubes the gills of insects mammal lungs carrying oxygen circulatory system leaf pores keeping warm sensing and responding sensing the environment antennae sensing taste hearing sound sensory cells in the ear judging distance compound eyes producing color iridescence producing light color changers nerve cells coordinating behavior moving beating hairs Paramecium crawling cells swimming with hairs combs of cilia simple muscles contracting muscles overcoming friction smooth rowing controlling buoyancy tube feet living at the surface backswimmers clinging feet telescopic legs jointed legs catapulting jumping with legs insect wings stabilizing flight tiniest fliers flight feather hitchhiking mites supporting and protecting a cell’s internal skeleton diatoms microscopic shells silica skeletons cellulose armor sponge spicules shedding water chemical defenses skeleton on the outside staying hidden echinoderm skeleton shark skin vertebrate skeletons mammal hair cell walls supporting stems leaf surfaces insect stingers irritating hairs stinging hairs internal defense reproducing sabotaging cells coronavirus swarming bacteria asexual reproduction fertilizing an egg fungus reproduction alternating generations sex in flowering plants pollen grains bees hidden pollination boom and bust escaping starvation competing for mates parental care growing and changing colonies of cells cell division developing embryo insect eggs how ferns grow seeds seed germination simple plants growing up as plankton growing in steps long and short lifespans habitats and lifestyles ubiquitous bacteria surviving extremes tardigrades surviving cold hanging on marine plankton copepods pond microorganisms freshwater communities nematodes recycling matter between sand grains forming galls mosquitoes living on skin living in hair gut communities infecting blood cells brain parasites plant-fungus partnership part fungus, part alga photosynthetic helpers classification glossary index acknowledgments Explore the everyday miracle of the microscopic world With spectacular macro photography and microscope images, this book reveals a hidden, living world full of intricate structures beyond the naked eye. Included are the tiniest insects and spiders; but looking deeper, you will discover truly microscopic creatures--even bacteria and viruses. Earth is home to more microbes, and more different types of microbes, than any other living organism. Bacteria on Earth outweigh humans by 1,100 to 1; and without them, all world ecosystems would collapse. This book reveals this vital, unseen realm, but it includes large life-forms too, in extreme close-up, so that you can wonder at the beauty of a pollen grain, a butterfly egg, the spore of a fungus, and the nerve cell of a human. The spectacular imagery in Micro Life exploits cutting-edge technology, such as focus-stacked macro photographs, as well as micrographs (microscope images) including scanning electron micrographs. Illustrations nearby explain the science--from the workings of an insect's eye to how a plant breathes through its leaves. The biology builds into a reference on how life works--and how all organisms, however small, solve the basic problems of movement, reproduction, energy, communication, and defense. Micro Life is a beautiful and surprising look at the natural world. Explore the everyday miracle of the microscopic worldWith spectacular macro photography and microscope images, this ebook reveals a hidden, living world full of intricate structures beyond the naked eye. Included are the tiniest insects and spiders; but looking deeper, you will discover truly microscopic creatures--even bacteria and viruses. Earth is home to more microbes, and more different types of microbes, than any other living organism. Bacteria on Earth outweigh humans by 1,100 to 1; and without them, all world ecosystems would collapse. This ebook reveals this vital, unseen realm, but it includes large life-forms too, in extreme close-up, so that you can wonder at the beauty of a pollen grain, a butterfly egg, the spore of a fungus, and the nerve cell of a human.The spectacular imagery in Micro Life exploits cutting-edge technology, such as focus-stacked macro photographs, as well as micrographs (microscope images) including scanning electron micrographs. Illustrations nearby explain the science--from the workings of an insect's eye to how a plant'breathes'through its leaves. The biology builds into a reference on how life works--and how all organisms, however small, solve the basic problems of movement, reproduction, energy, communication, and defense.Micro Life is a beautiful and surprising look at the natural world.