Giant of the Bacterial World (draft)

When you think of bacteria, you usually think of microscopic organisms that can not be seen with the naked eye, however, recently scientists have discovered an organism that is thousands of times bigger than the usual bacteria cell. Thiomargarita magnifica is a bacteria that was discovered in a swamp in Guadeloupe. T. magnifica ranges in size from 1cm-2cm, whereas most bacteria fall in the range of 0.2 to 10µm. It is the largest known bacteria and the only bacteria that humans know of to be visible to the human eye, around the size of an eyelash. Scientists previously believed that, based on the rules of cell metabolism, a bacteria could not possibly sustain itself at that size. As of right now, scientists are not 100% sure why these cells are able to survive at this size. Additionally, T. magnifica contains a unique internal structure. While most cells have DNA floating around, T. magnifica has membrane bound compartments that store its DNA. The structure combined with it's significant amount of genetic material (about 3 times as many genes as the average bacteria), really showcases the diversity between different organisms.