Interesting facts about Diatoms:
A) They are unicellular organisms (specifically microalgae) that live live in waterways, oceans, and soils!
B) They produce approximately 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen on Earth!
C) They are primary producers in the food chain and constitute nearly half of the organic material found in the oceans!
D) Their intricate forms have inspired architects and artists since the discovery of the microscope!
"Few objects are more beautiful than the minute siliceous cases of the Diatomaceæ: were these created that they might be examined and admired under the higher powers of the microscope?” (Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species);
“It is doubtful whether there exists in the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom, any object which embraces in such small dimensions so much of the truly marvellous and beautiful as the tiny plants called diatoms. So great is the fascination which attends the examination of diatoms, that men have been influenced to put aside all other microscopic studies so that they might give them their unstinted and undivided attention. […] The men who make the microscopic study of diatoms their hobby are rudely termed ‘diatomaniacs.’ Yet there are few studies more fascinating, or that so well repay for any trouble expended upon their individual examination. [...] Although these tiny plants are so insignificant apparently, yet large volumes have been written about them, and the highest art has been brought to bear upon the illustrations which are used to make their study easy and attractive. But no illustration and no wordpainting can at all compare with a five minutes’ peep through a powerful microscope, when a group of diatoms is in view”. Kerr, R. (1895), Hidden beauties of nature, London.
E) Why do some Diatom appear colored without any stain at low magnification? Download this article: link.