"That turned out not to be the case. When the researchers peered inside the bacterial noodles with electron microscopes, they realized each one was its own giga

"That turned out not to be the case. When the researchers peered inside the bacterial noodles with electron microscopes, they realized each one was its own gigantic cell. The average cell measured about 9,000 microns long, and the biggest was 20,000 microns — long enough to span the diameter of a penny." (from NYT, https://archive.ph/ET2tc https://archive.ph/ET2tc )