One of my many versions of Altmann’s bioblasts. Today they are called mitochondria, and are the energy-producing elements of cells. I like the vision of Altmann, not just because he was the first observing, describing and naming the organelles, but also because it is a simplification that appeals to me: you see the outline of the cells, the nucleus as a non-entity in the middle, and mitochondria. It was, in fact, an artifact of the process he used to prepare the samples for his microscope.