Heaven knows, it’s hard to get attention even for a gut hit like amoebic dysentery , never mind for Blob World in general, but here, with graphic details:
Amoeba sex might have been missed because when grown in the lab, many of them don’t show any signs of engaging in sex — they have the ability to reproduce themselves by cloning, or copying themselves, indefinitely. And when they did show signs of sex, researchers may have mistaken it for a rare exception to the no-sex rule.- “Amoebas: Sexier than anyone knew: Once considered the epitome of chastity, researchers say it’s not so” (Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience, 3/22/2011)
Like, they’re amoebas. It would rarely occur to them to do anything, anything at all, left to themselves. Aw, let’s move on. I should have put this story through at midnight (private burial).