Cells have an astonishing menu of ways to die—from apoptosis and pyroptosis to ferroptosis and cornification. But cellular death isn't always failure: it can shape, protect and even strengthen life. So what if science fiction created an alien that gets stronger every time you kill it?

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Most people think amoebas are primitive blobs floating through pond water.

Reality is far stranger.

Some species carry roughly 100 times more DNA than humans, appear capable of storing a form of biological memory without neurons, build microscopic armored homes, and survive environmental disasters by entering suspended animation. One rare cousin, Naegleria fowleri, also reminds us why nature always deserves respect.

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