What is this organism? Still unidentified.

Might be some sort of microscopic jellyfish. I'm a little confused, though. You haven't provided necessary information, such as the scale.

Thank you for taking a look.  Those images represent the microscope's maximum capabilities at 1000x oil immersion.  What you see pictured there is about the size of 20 protists. 

No micro-organism could be that intricate. You must be doing something wrong.

I know, but I'm not.  Those photos are from this Omax scope (pic attached) all the way maxed out.  The organism coalesces into complex structures like the ones that you have seen.  The attached video depicts what used to be red blood cells.  This sample is 48 hours old, yet note the animation.  I discovered that the organism appears to consume hemoglobin, possibly through a molecular process, leaving them grey and lacking in pigmentation.  There is no external heat or vibration source here that would explain the movement that you see here.  In fact, this is an LED light source that gives off almost no heat.  I am still recording as I type this. 

At this point, two Ph.D.s, an M.D., you, and the rest of biology-forums.com have been unable to classify what I am looking at here. 

Thanks for your interest.  I am grateful for it because your numbers appear to speak for themselves.  I am going to post again in the coming days while pursuing other avenues. 

Post Merge: 10 years ago

Duddy,

Structures like these also formed over a 48 hour period. 

Thanks again for taking a look. 

Well, if you want to identify whether it's a species of bacteria, why don't you try a Gram test (see whether it's Gram-positive / -negative). Identifying micro-organisms by looking at their physical attributes isn't feasible.

Thank you Duddy,

That is a great suggestion.  One of the professors that I brought this to specializes in bacteriophage biology.  Based on the array of structures that the organism forms, he was of the opinion that it is not a bacteria and seemed certain, but it may still be worth a try.  I am, however, concerned about sacrificing what I have left unless I can generate new [expendable] slides.  Are you familiar with any bacteria that, in a small grouping,  perform rapid rotational movements akin to an acrobatic baton twirler or Yoda from that fight scene in star wars (that is the most illustrative description I can provide).  The movements are so rapid and complex that the camera can not fully capture what is seen when actually looking into the eye pieces.  The base organism in its smallest and most fundamental form do indeed resemble a tiny spherical bacteria, just barely visible under 1000x.  They come in every color imaginable, but certain colors are more motile than others, while some are astonishingly fast.  They seem to arrange themselves in a specific manner, as if patiently waiting to find an exact "fit."  Their next simplest structure is merely a larger sphere (although still very small and usually slightly greenish or greyish), and usually, a point can be seen within the perimeter of the sphere, which is the base organism.  The next stage up is a grouping, either like a bunch of equal sized balloons, or a collection of spheres of varying sizes.  When in their smallest and most fundamental form, they seem at times to pair up and perform a kind of three dimensional tug of war with another [usually] equal sized nucleus. 
Any suggestions other than Gram's test such as adding a compound that would excite or catalyze the organism?  I looked at some videos of gram-positive and negative bacteria, but have not seen a fit.  Also, after seven weeks of watching this, I have not definitively seen the cell-division process even once.   Please watch the attached vid when you get a minute and let me know if any of this rings a bell.  Thanks.

A lot of bacteria do that. It suggests they have a flagella. Like Duddy said, it wouldn't be possible to figure out what it is based on those attributes. If you actually have something there, it should grow on a petri dish indefinitely, given that you don't contaminate it with common bacteria, like E. coli.

So, you're using the 10X objective lens, or 100X?

Padre,

The smallest and most fundamental form of the organism lacks any flagella or any obvious means of motility.  They do seem, however, to pair up.  It was not obvious at first, but it seems that they conduct a kind of tug-of-war dance with one another but without actually being connected by anything.

The only practical way to view the organism is with the 100x objective oil immersion lens and 20x ocular. 

I noticed some new movements over the last several days.  While before, they would just move around rather slowly, they began exhibiting astonishingly fast movements, not "lightning speed", but "bullet speed" such that the frame rate of the camera can not adequately capture the movements.  Some areas appeared as a chaotic maelstrom of crossfire, which I had not seen until recently. 

Regarding the rapid rotational movements.  I have only seen one grouping behave in such a complex manner as I described.  Some others, however, spin in place; some are extremely fast, while others simply rotate like clock hands rotate when you set the time on an analog timepiece. 

These new movements appear to be exclusive to a rod-shaped variation of the base organism (circular, and multicolored nuclei), but the rods seem to be about 7 or 8 of the nuclei in a line, seemingly with a common membrane or casing.

Any thoughts on the apparent hemoglobin connection? 

Probably a fungal species then. Bacteria lack any sort of internal organelles (they're nearly hallow inside when viewed under a microscope), and at 2000X, you should clearly almost anything. Try visualizing your very own check cell in comparison at 40X objective.