This amoeba, a single-celled organism, acquires energy by engulfing nutrients in the form of a yeast cell (red). Through a process called phagocytosis, the amoeba encloses the yeast cell with its ...

While it's very rare, it can be deadly—a brain infection by a microbe widely known as the "brain-eating amoeba." The pathogen in question is called Naegleria fowleri. The "brain-eating" part ...