The three dynamics displayed in the left column record the growth of three kinds of bacteria under a microscope. The dynamics in the middle and the right columns are synthesized through digital image processing which selects a sliver of the circular plate on the left and replicates it around the circle. 

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In neat patterns, the images in the middle and right columns offer pleasing aesthetics with potentially intricate and majestic connotations. In chaos, the images on the left promise life. If symmetry guarantees information loss and repetition caters well to the limited capability of human perception, is life’s self-exploration not pretty in the literal sense? Or are aesthetics uninhabitable? 

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(Note: This work was done during my undergraduate Research @ Danino Lab, Columbia University Biomedical Engineering. The three GIFs in the left column are courtesy of the lab.)