Spooky science πŸŽƒ

A selection of Halloween-themed agar art

The diversity in microbes is breath-taking. Individual cells may not look like much under the microscope - they are just too tiny. But when they form visible colonies on agar plates many bacteria and moulds grow in the most staggering display of colours and shapes. 🧫

And most scientists are generally creative and curious people. Sometimes they need a bit of compensation for the pressures and frustrations of their daily work in the lab. Sometimes they just like to play.

Plus, everyone loves Halloween!

Which is why we are posting here the most stunning microbial agar art we could find on the internet, to go with our earlier selections about Christmas, Easter, Taylor Swift, Star Wars and the Paris Olympics.

Much of the artwork in this album was created for the annual Creepy Cultures competitions run by Microbiologics in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Click on the photos to learn more about the people and/or the germs behind these images!

And please post your own photos in the comment section below or on Bluesky #AgarArt @superbugs.bsky.social.


Matthias Eberl

Matthias is Professor for Translational Immunology at Cardiff University where he leads a research group investigating the immune response to acute bacterial infections. He is also Academic Lead for Public Involvement and Engagement at Cardiff’s School of Medicine and a core member of the Superbugs team.

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Photo album: Broadlands Fun Day 2024