# You tiny little lifeforms: Smallest organism ever just discovered! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328 "2006-12-23T06:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/1 "2006-12-23T06:50:27Z")
From the \*[NY Times\*](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/23/science/23microbe.html?hp&ex=1166936400&en=ddbd033a6a93021d&ei=5094&partner=homepage). (May require registration.) According to the article, scientists have found archaea (formerly called archaebacteria, the kingdom from which forms a clade separate from bacteria and eukaryotes) living in a pool of toxic sludge from a mine in Northern California. These archaea are one-fifth the average size of a bacterium, about as big as a large virus! I love learning new facts about the universe! ::sigh:: Why’d I have to major in stupid useless Humanities in college? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/2 "2006-12-23T07:02:50Z")
Aw, shit. Somebody ask the mods to fix that link, please! ---
**Author:** ![MerryMagdalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@MerryMagdalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryMagdalen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/3 "2006-12-23T10:17:34Z")
Yay! Archaea are so fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/4 "2006-12-23T10:31:33Z")
This world never ceases to amaze. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/5 "2006-12-23T11:25:13Z")
Whoville discovered! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/6 "2006-12-23T12:40:06Z")
I was under the impression that there was much contension that it is or isn’t a new lifeform. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/7 "2006-12-23T12:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] I was under the impression that there was much contension that it is or isn’t a new lifeform. [/QUOTE] That seems to be addressed at the end of the article. > [@](#): > > The microbes are about 200 nanometers wide — the size of large viruses, which scientists consider lifeless because they cannot reproduce on their own. Bacteria average about five times that size. > > The scientists must do further tests to confirm that the organisms are the smallest ever found, and that they can reproduce. If those analyses hold up, they said in their Science paper, “it may be necessary to reconsider existing paradigms for the minimum requirements for life.” ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-tiny-little-lifeforms-smallest-organism-ever-just-discovered/385328/8 "2006-12-23T13:02:03Z")
[QUOTE=Alan Smithee] These archaea are one-fifth the average size of a bacterium, about as big as a large virus! [/QUOTE] The [Pox virus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poxvirus) is so large that it is **almost** the size of bacteria. My professor used to tell me that it was just shy of being microscopically visible using a simple high powered microscope (i.e. x1000).