Well, actually, it grows in a petri dish — and the strange, swirling, colorful forms you’ll see here were actually carefully cultivated by microbiologists for a competition.
Contestants grew various microbes in agar, a gel-like substance, and “painted” with them to form images.The contestants chose their microbes, let them incubate, and guided them into various forms. Some people used multiple dishes. With careful planning and guidance, some pretty amazing shapes can be made from microbes.
s
