Microscopic filaments of Porphyra float in this image from the Protist Image Data Gallery. Porphyra takes two forms in nature, and can be found wrapped around sushi, or as filaments that bore into calcium carbonate substrate such as barnacles. Protist Image Data (PID) "provides pictures and short descriptions of selected protist genera, especially those genera whose species are frequently used as experimental organisms or are important in studies of organismal evolution" and is part of the Molecular Evolution and Organelle Genomics program at the University of Montreal. Their work on mitochondrial DNA was recently cited in Nature and on our journals page.
Science for Art?s Sake
Binary worms
"Binary worms dream up digital flies" in these interactive inflatable works by sculptor Jim Pallas. These worms are actually 8-bit binary counters that grow up to 60 feet high and have made various appearances as "Counting Caterpillars" at the Center for Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio and as "Canadian Worm Colony" at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario. "Generally, my artworks are interactive performing sculptures that depend on a combination of electronic logic and environmental stimuli to produce behaviors of movement, sound, light, or other phenomena."
