Lineages of Bacillus
Different lineages of Bacillus subtilis bacteria were randomly applied on a Petri dish and allowed to grow. As the bacteria spread, cells from each lineage organized themselves into distinct communities as shown by the colors in the image. The confocal micrograph image was part of a project where scientists aimed to design artificial intelligence circuits in bacterial colonies and plant circuits.
Microcosmic Symphony
Under the lens, life unfolds,
a universe within a drop.
Each dot teeming with
tiny architects of a grand design.
Veins of red, blue, green, black.
a symphony of the unseen,
Yet, now seen.
Each bacterium
subtilis.
Yet, not subtle,
playing its part in the sea of the living.
Patterns echoing nature’s hand,
they cluster and spread,
Like winding rivers of water and blood.
Silent, complex, alive.
Patience reveals a hidden world,
A canvas of single cells,
Each dot a life with
a purpose.
Beauty in a microcosm,
Art in the invisible,
Yet, now visible.
A being in each tiny speck.
Miniscule creatures,
Magnificent microorganisms,
form vast, intricate tapestries.
Nature’s marvel.
The twisting dance of life–
Never-ending.
Eternal.
Constantino Pena, RE ‘26
Insights
I realized how microorganisms can come together to form art. Each dot in this biofilm represents life and it’s amazing how they all merge together to form a work of art. The different colors were interesting as well because I needed to think about why certain bacteria were red, while others were blue, green or black. Was it due to certain elements of each bacteria?
| Fields the author associated with the art | Biology, Technology |
Arcade Carpet of the Gods
The bacteria weave together a pattern beyond our understanding, its natural state appears to us as intentionally vague; like the splattered canvas of the boundary-pushing artist, it is created to be obtuse.
“It’s about what you get from it,” the artist says, pretentiousness dripping from their tongues, like the purple prose we clamor to compare it to –not describe, not explain… We can never explain it. We cannot explain its truth in plain language, but as we inch forever closer, fingers smudging and breath fogging up the glass, we try to the best of our abilities to contain multitudes within bounds.
Insignificant. Smaller than a grain of dust lost in the wind. Dragged along by forces beyond comprehension. The small human cannot comprehend the vastness of the universe. It is also difficult to conceptualize the minutia of bacteria. As the universe is to us, we are to the bacteria, and vice-versa.
I do not understand the Bacteria Biofilm; I cannot predict it mathematically as the scientists have
done. So, I compare it.
To me, it looks like an Arcade Carpet.
Garishly colorful, almost seizure-inducing. It looks like it should be the unidentifiably sticky companion to a Pac-Man machine. Forever stained and made artificial sweet. The chemical recreations of vague fruit approximations waft up at you. “This is our attempt at raspberry. It is blue.”
It looks like its thin strands will shock you at repeated intervals, static built up and discharged at the nearest thing. Static: Like the noise of random radio waves picked up by your TV, extraneous byproduct of a busy universe.
Electric! It’s Electric!
Fizzing and crackling like a live wire, sparks licking up a hand, a kind tingle on the tongue and the tang of cold metal, almost sweet in its lack of abandon. It does not care for you, it is a glorious static God, and it understands you as well as you do it. Ant meets Boot. Ant meets Heel. Ant is left as smear on pavement.
“The researchers mixed all of the colors together, at first, but, as the bacteria grew, they reconfigured themselves into mathematically predictable patterns.”* Bacteria mixed to Oblivion; Shaken bottle, Shattered glass, Snowflake fractals ad infinitum. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
Chaos is simply Order we don’t yet understand. But we inch ever closer, we reach out to grasp the fuzzy, stained, sticky, Arcade Carpet of the Gods.
Paloma Lopes, RE ‘25
Insights
This exercise did allow me to package a recurring thought about the complexity of the universe.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Math, Biology, Technology, Philosophy |
Our Future In A Biofilm
An unforgiving world surrounds my friends and me
We will group together in order just to be
Find solace, warmth, and protection only amongst ourselves
In time we will create libraries, knowledge filled shelves
As we progress through time and space
All we can is stay together in this big race.
Connor Alfonso, RE ‘26
Insights
Scientists will look at biofilms and bacteria with regularity. Although biofilms might be a mundane concept, they represent perhaps the first instance of the evolutionary prerogative of the simple need to gather for protection by single-celled organisms. From these simple gatherings complex social structures will evolve. And in this way, our happiness, future and safety will come to form.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Biology, Philosophy |
Sight
Do you see me?
Not unless you’re looking
Looking hard
And Long
Using all of your precious sight
How would you be different
If it was I that had your sight
If only I had eyes
To see
Or ears
To hear
Or skin
To feel even the slightest bit of touch
How much more could we be
To you
If we had just one of your gifts
Maybe then
You would see us
All of us.
Sophie Kosiba, Brandeis ‘27
Insights
Realized that bacteria that could have sensational input would be far more dangerous and capable than now.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Biology, Psychology |
Big Picture
Hundreds, thousands, millions of dots,
Each separate, in its own world,
And yet, together, they are something more.
Green flashes, streaks of fire,
An intricate masterpiece
Unwittingly created,
But no less significant.
Andrew Gedde, RE ’25, MIT ’29
Insights
I realized that people/ideas/objects that may seem unrelated can actually be combined to created something much greater than any one of the components. This concept can be applied in many ways, from acquiring knowledge to promoting teamwork.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Psychology, Philosophy |
The Hidden Galaxy
A galaxy of stars
Supernovas of colors
A rift in space
Lighting up like an RGB keyboard
Nature is the artist
Nature made this intentional
The seemingly artificial zigzags and neon colors
Visible yet secluded within the bacterial realm
All within the palm of your hand.
Hudson Kaplan, RE ’25, Yale ’29
Insights
I realized that unnatural looking things may be natural in nature.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Astronomy |
The Contributors
A matrix of bacteria—
Each bacterium a dot in the system.
Banding together
With curves and layers,
No one bacterium stands out,
Yet each gives itself to the whole,
Vibrant and connected.
Sinuous yet sharp,
The lines in the matrix
Come from microscopic,
But not insignificant,
Contributors.
Mia Campbell, RE ’25, MIT ’29
Insights
I realized that each contributor does not have to play a significant role in the effect of the whole.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Philosophy |
Strangers in a Biofilm
Amidst the spectrum of light
That only the extremes saw,
I found you reaching for me
With gracious moves of pure awe.
Orange and green, red and blue,
Finding one another to
Complement our moods,
Each dot witness to our truth.
Like happiness and nostalgia,
Much to our own devices,
And even more so to the fate
Of our Universes fused.
Fertile lair of creation,
Inoculates and refrains,
At the sight of the blue light
Or the touch of the halides.
As tiny cells we converge
In one being, The Biofilm.
The Community of All,
Atoms, Molecules, Bacteria.
And from these,
All the ones
And the stars
Will connect,
In a distant dance
Of endless interplay.
Nelson Manstein, RE ’26
Insights
The vibrant, swirling patterns of the image point to a deeper scientific truth: bacterial colonies and biofilms are not chaotic; rather, they’re highly organized, self-assembled systems exhibiting a unique behavior. Just like abstract waves, biofilms grow in complex, often fractal-like structures, all being a consequence of how bacteria communicate and interact. The convergence and ‘dance’ of complementary colors is particularly interesting. This image is shaped by chemistry, cell communication, and cooperation. The swirling forms almost resemble oscillating chemical reactions and nutrient flow inside the microscopic world of the biofilm.
| Fields the author associated with the art | Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology |