MYSTERY ANSWER

Fall 2008 MYSTERY IMAGE 

image by C. J. Kazilek

There were a lot of different kinds of answers for this mystery image. Some thought it was something alive, while others thought it looked like pretty beads of a necklace or maybe a strange candy.

So what was it? It turns out to be a really close-up view of a pollen grain. Yes, pollen, the stuff plants use to reproduce and what are the purpose of those "bumps" on the surface? That's a good question. If they actually have a function it could be one of the following.

• They may be left over from the process that formed the pollen grains or may have to do with the way they were packed together.
• They may also have some quite prosaic, molecular level function like holding water (by capillary attraction) close to the outer surface of the grain long enough to allow hydration.
• They may be a method of "directing" the growth of the pollen tube on germination.
• They may be low frequency interstellar communication antennae - just kidding.

So we are not quite sure if they have a function. Maybe you will be the scientist that finds out if they do and what the function is.

If you are curious, here are some numbers from our list of guesses. 

• 31% thought these were viruses
• 25% thought the blue beads were bacteria
• 19% thought this could be a surface of a leaf
• 16% thought this could be the taste buds on a tongue.

Now for some of the more creative answers.

• Viruses on the surface of a cell
• Bumps on the surface of a tongue after licking a blue popsicle.
• Pretty blue beads from a necklace
• Sea plant
• Blue M&M's
• Surface of candy through a microsope.