Many living organisms have a variety of natural features they can use as weapons, and microbes are no exception. In the video above from Science, learn more about how microscopic creatures like dinoflagellates have evolved a personal arsenal. You can even see a microbial weapon in action.
While these weapons have not been a mystery (we've known they existed for over a hundred years), high-powered microscopy has enabled researchers to see these features in detail. Some of the data generated from those images is shown in the video, and you can see how these images have given investigators a good look at the structure of these features.
Interestingly, these microscopic weapons can have more complex structures than the ones used by large animals like jellyfish. Scientists have also learned that the weapons carried by these microbes have evolved in different ways