Here’s All the Bacteria Growing on a Child’s Hand

The bacteria living on an 8-year-old’s skin forms a perfect human hand print in a (literally) viral photo snapped by Cabrillo College lab tech Tasha Sturm, who achieved the effect by imprinting her son’s digits in a nutrient-rich petri dish. While the resulting staph, bacilus, and yeast cultures might set a germaphobe’s hair on end, these sorts of microbes are literally everywhere, are vital to the functioning of human immune systems, digestion, and other bodily functions, and might even be used in future space suits. Check out a couple close-ups of the handprint colonies below.

via Reddit, Microbe World

Related:

[Video] Colonies | Vik Muniz And Tal Danino Turn Living Cells Into Art

Neri Oxman’s Bacteria-Infested Spacesuits Are Grown, Not Designed

Your Smartphone Is Covered In Bacteria As These Bioart Images

The Sights (and Smells) of Anicka Yi’s Bacteria Art Show