AMOEBA UP

This prodigious single-cell organism has been described as one of those rare universal geniuses that can do anything (Constantin Pralinoswki, 1857). And no wonder, as it paints watercolours, touches seashells, imitates mermaid songs and even acts as a ventriloquist if the occasion requires. The first specimens were discovered in the mid-nineteenth century in shallow waters of the Marianas, where they had evolved unaltered for millennia until the arrival of the first humans, when they took advantage to head to the surface and complete their range of skills, including jumps emulating Mexican divers, oxygen-free dives to the oceanic trench, bobsleigh races along the reefs and magic flute concerts.