Microglia
Research has discovered dystrophic (defective development) human microglia. "These cells are characterized by abnormalities in their cytoplasmic structure, such as deramified, atrophic, fragmented or unusually tortuous processes, frequently bearing spheroidal or bulbous swellings." The incidence of dystrophic microglia increases with aging. Microglial degeneration and death have been reported in research on Prion disease, Schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, indicating that microglial deterioration might be involved in neurodegenerative diseases. A complication of this theory is the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between "activated" and "dystrophic" microglia in the human brain.
Mite
Mites were first observed under the microscope by the English polymath Robert Hooke. In his 1665 book "Micrographia", he stated that far from being spontaneously generated from dirt, they were "very prettily shap'd Insects". The world's first science documentary featured cheese mites, seen under the microscope; the short film was shown in London's Alhambra music hall in 1903, causing a boom in the sales of simple microscopes. A few years later, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a satirical poem, "Parable", with the conceit of some cheese mites disputing the origin of the round Cheddar cheese in which they all lived.