Series · Life Under The Lens

The Microscopic World

Bacteria, viruses, parasites, and the invisible empire running the planet.

18 episodes ~72 min

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01
The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish
Glass frogs become invisible by stuffing their red blood cells into their liver, making their skin as clear as a window.
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02
You Are Only Half Human
There are roughly 38 trillion bacterial cells in your body, meaning you are technically more bacteria than you are 'you'.
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03
The Invisible Forest Floating in the Ocean
More than half of the oxygen you breathe doesn't come from trees, but from microscopic marine life.
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04
Your immune system dies every three days
While red blood cells last for months, most white blood cells survive for only 1 to 3 days in your bloodstream.
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05
You sleep with millions of skin-eating mites every night
Microscopic dust mites survive entirely on the dead skin cells you shed every day.
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06
The Forest That is Actually Just One Tree
In Utah, there is a forest of 47,000 trees that all share the exact same DNA and root system.
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07
The Liquid That Can Crawl Out Of Containers
When cooled to near absolute zero, helium becomes a superfluid that can flow up walls and through microscopic cracks.
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08
The Marsupial That Could Frame You For Murder
Koalas have fingerprints so similar to humans that even experts using electron microscopes struggle to tell them apart.
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09
The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast
Vultures possess stomach acid so corrosive that it dissolves metal and kills the world's deadliest bacteria instantly.
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10
The Skin That Bacteria Can't Grip
Sharks don't use chemicals to stay clean; their skin is physically designed to repel germs.
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11
The Molecular Lubricant Inside Every Banana
Banana peels are slippery because they contain a specialized protein gel that acts like industrial grease.
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12
Why Moon Dust Acts Like Shards of Glass
The Moon is covered in microscopic glass needles that can eat through a space suit.
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13
Bananas are radioactive — and so are you
Potassium-40 is in every cell. Don't panic.
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14
The fungus that turns ants into zombies
A parasitic fungus hijacks an ant's body, kills it, and grows out of its head.
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15
Your face is covered in microscopic mites
You are renting your skin to thousands of tiny eight-legged tenants. They poop on it.
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16
You replace 330 billion cells every day
You're not the same person you were last month.
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17
The Parasite That Turns Insects Into Zombies
A fungus tells a carpenter ant exactly when to die — and the ant obeys.
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18
The Fish That Generates Its Own Electricity
An electric eel can fire 600 volts on command — enough to stop a horse's heart. Its body is a living battery.
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The Microscopic World

All episodes

The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish

You Are Only Half Human

The Invisible Forest Floating in the Ocean

Your immune system dies every three days

You sleep with millions of skin-eating mites every night

The Forest That is Actually Just One Tree

The Liquid That Can Crawl Out Of Containers

The Marsupial That Could Frame You For Murder

The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast

The Skin That Bacteria Can't Grip

The Molecular Lubricant Inside Every Banana

Why Moon Dust Acts Like Shards of Glass

Bananas are radioactive — and so are you

The fungus that turns ants into zombies

Your face is covered in microscopic mites

You replace 330 billion cells every day

The Parasite That Turns Insects Into Zombies

The Fish That Generates Its Own Electricity