Picture of the Week: Diatoms

Photo Credit: Wikimedia commons

No, these little beauties aren't crystals in a kaleidoscope. These unicellular organisms are diatoms, a diverse group of algae that normally reside in fresh and salt water, and one of my personal favorites to look at.  The rigid shapes you see are created by an outer wall made of silica, which can remain in sediment and has contributed greatly to the study of algae evolution. Currently these little guys are being studied in the nanotechnology field due to their itty bitty valve structures that could be useful for medical technologies and solar energy cells.