Students and scientists from around the world used agar and live microbes in Petri dishes as the medium to create unique works of art for the American Society for Microbiology Agar Art contest. The organization announced winners of its 2018 contest on May 23. Agar is commonly used by microbiologists to test for the presence of bacteria. From 156 entries, 10 winners were chosen, including those highlighted in the Lab Link Photo Feature. Photos courtesy of American Society of Microbiology

“The Battle of Winter and Spring,” first place by Ana Tsitsishvili, Agricultural University of Georgia“My Yellow Vision!” second place, Bornali Bhattacharjee, Ph.D., National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, India.“Sustenance,” third place, Mehmet Berkmen, Ph.D., New England Biolabs, and Maria Peñil Cobo, independent mixed media artist“A Salmonellosis Odyssey,” People’s Choice, Maria Laura Echarren, Ph.D., Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina. A“Serratia Octopus” The Agar Art Maker contest, Tiare Ribeaux and Patrik D’haeseleer, Counter Culture Labs “The Magnificent Butterfly,” first place, Agar Art Kids award, 10-year-old Kate Lin, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center