Infectious beauty
They may not be as cute and cuddly as their plush counterparts, but these glass microbes are absolutely stunning.
This one is my favorite, just because it brings back so many fond (and not-so-fond) memories from undergraduate biology classes:
It’s also vaguely horrifying at this scale, kind of like an unholy derivative of one of the face-huggers from Alien… it looks like it’s just about ready to start scuttling my way. Luckily, I always carry a vial of restriction enzymes for protection.
Go check out the rest of artist Luke Jerram’s work – it’s stunning. (h/t Jonathan Eisen’s Tree of Life blog)