Photos by Scott Chimileski

Life of the party

November 8, 2017 2 min read

Microbial palettes and patterns make strange, spectacular slideshow

A hidden world of vibrant colors, dynamic movements, and extraordinary shapes has come alive at Harvard.

Researchers Roberto Kolter and Scott Chimileski’s large-scale photographs illustrating the intricate social and multidimensional wonder of the small-scale world of microbes are on display in the Science Center show “Scale: A Matter of Perspective” through Dec. 9. The stunning images, which blend art and science, also comprise the exhibit “World in a Drop: Photographic Explorations of Microbial Life” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History through Jan. 7.

Stained Pseudomonas aeruginosa colony biofilm grown in the laboratory (left); signature image of the “World in a Drop” exhibit, taken on a blade of grass in the Arnold Arboretum.

For a hands-on experience, educators, researchers, and the Art+Bio Collaborative will hold a Microbes Mini-Festival on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can observe thriving microbial colonies on cheese rinds, and watch the aquatic micro-animals known as “waterbears” prowl a landscape the unaided human eye can’t see. The opportunity to work on a collaborative art project detailing a large microbial community and interact with fungi is part of the fun.

The images below give a glimpse of what keeps our ecosystems and our lives in balance. These stunning pictures invite people to explore the significant, structural world of the unseen.

— Deborah Blackwell

Actinobacteria colony biofilm grown in the laboratory.

Stained cross section showing a conidiophore of Aspergillus oryzae viewed using a light microscope (left); moss water viewed using a light microscope.

Bacillus subtilis colony seen using a fluorescence microscope.

Aspergillus oryzae, koji, growing on rice kernels.

Stained cross-section of lichen viewed using a light microscope.

Aspergillus oryzae, koji, growing on rice kernels (clockwise from top left); lichen growing on tree bark in the Arnold Arboretum; and a stained Bacillus subtilis colony biofilm grown in the laboratory.