MICROBE MONA LISA
by Tim Dobbs
Tim Dobbs
Tim Dobbs is a biohacker and bioprocess engineer based in Oakland, California, USA. He is the founder of BioArtBot.org, a playful science tool where anyone can make a drawing that is brought to life with a bio-printer and colorful microbes. By day, he develops bioreactors, with the goal of making it easier to make useful things with biology. Tim is passionate about community and open-source science.
Contact info
Email: timdobbs [at] gmail [dot] com
Twitter: @TimSDobbs
This microbial painting was made as part of the BioArtBot.org project.
A photo of the famous Mona Lisa was algorithmically processed into bio-printing instructions, which were then used with a liquid handling robot to place genetically engineered colorful E. coli onto a specially-constructed A3 size petri plate. The piece comprises nearly 50,000 individual colonies growing on almost a liter of LB agar, and took 11 hours to print in total.
