(CNN) These are bacteria like you've never seen before -- likely because, until now, all known bacteria could only be seen using a powerful compound microscope. Cells of most bacterial species are around 2 micrometers in length, although larger ones can reach 750 micrometers. T. magnifica can grow up to 2 centimeters long, according to study coauthor Jean-Marie Volland, a marine biologist and scientist at California's Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems, and an affiliate at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. "To understand how gigantic that is for a bacterium, it is the same as if we were to find a human as tall as Mount Everest," he told CNN Wednesday. It can reach up to 2 centimeters, according to a new study.

Source: CNN June 24, 2022 04:40 UTC