Each one is made from fungi and bacteria.

每個都由菌種和細菌所組成。

Ew, gross, right?

矮額，很噁心，是吧？

But this art is being used to change people's minds about microorganisms.

但這件藝術品可以用來改變人們對微生物的看法。

The person credited with pioneering the art is Alexander Fleming.

這種藝術的開創要歸功於亞歷山大．弗萊明。

If that name sounds familiar, it's because he's the scientist who discovered the antibiotic properties of penicillin.

如果你覺得這名字聽起來很熟悉，那是因為他就是發現盤尼西林抗菌功效的科學家。

The organization behind these particular artworks is called Petri Dish Picasso, and it's easy to see why.

這項特別的藝術作品由一個叫做「培養皿畢卡索」的組織所策劃，他們的用意不難猜到。

They wanted to give people more access to the interesting world of microbiology with a hands-on approach.

他們希望讓人們藉由實際操作來認識微生物學的有趣世界。

Kids, especially, get a kick out of painting with these little things called microbes.

小孩尤其享受用小小微生物作畫。

Here's how you paint with bacteria.

以下告訴你怎麼用細菌作畫。

Today, I'm gonna draw a dandelion, and those are my brushes.

今天我要來畫蒲公英，這些是我的筆刷。

Agar is a jellylike substance made from red seaweeds used to culture bacteria and fungus in labs.

洋菜膠是一種用紅海藻製成的果凍型物質，實驗室用來培養菌種和細菌。

It's also an ingredient in foods like gummy bears and Jell-O.

小熊軟糖和果凍這類食物中也有這種材質。

It's sterilized into a liquid at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, poured into a petri dish, and left to cool and solidify.

先以攝氏 121 度將它殺菌成液體，再倒進培養皿，放涼成固體。

This is the canvas and the life support for the microbiome.

這是微生物群賴以為生的物質，也是作畫的「畫布」。

A microbiome is defined as the microorganisms in a particular environment (including the body or a part of the body).

微生物群的意思是，處於一個特定環境 (如人體或人體中某部分) 的微生物。

In separate containers, the paint, or microbes, must be grown.

顏料，也就是微生物，會在個別的容器裡生長。

A liquid broth of water and nutrients does the trick.

由水分和營養組成的液體能幫助牠們生長。

A popular ingredient for making agar art is E. coli.

洋菜膠藝術常用的材料之一是大腸桿菌。

Each organism has different nutritional needs and can produce different colors.

每一種有機體都需要不同的營養，而且可以顯示不同顏色。

A single cell of E. coli can grow to over several billion cells overnight.

單單一個大腸桿菌細胞能在一夜之間長到超過幾百萬個。

Using a few different tools, the cultured bacteria cells are taken from their stew and gently painted onto the agar.

利用幾種不同的器具就能將培養的細菌細胞取下，再輕輕畫到洋菜膠上。

And for the flowers, I'm gonna use a different technique with a pipette.

花朵的部分，我要用吸量管做別的技巧。

It's almost like painting with invisible ink because the cells need to grow into mature colony clusters for you to see them.

這就好像用透明墨水作畫，因為細胞要先成長成菌落 (細胞堆)，肉眼才看得見。

They're put in an incubator at their optimal growing temperature.

然後被放進細菌培養器，讓牠們在最佳的生長溫度下繁殖。

E. coli prefers to be grown at about 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

大腸桿菌喜歡大約 37 攝氏的生長環境。

Depending on how fast the microbes replicate, the incubation step can take anywhere from 12 hours to several days.

這個過程長度取決於微生物複製繁殖的速度，有可能只要 12 小時，或是要幾天時間。

Then it's time to see if your agar art is in the league of Pablo Picasso, or maybe Jackson Pollock.

然後是時候見真章了，看看你的洋菜膠藝術是畢卡索風，還是傑克遜．波洛克風格 (抽象表現主義畫家)。

Agar art doesn't last forever.

洋菜膠藝術無法永久維持。

As the cells run out of nutrients, they will begin to die.

因為細胞一旦沒了營養就會開始凋零。

Some agar artists try to preserve their work by casting it in resin, but not Petri Dish Picasso.

有些洋菜膠藝術家試著用樹脂包裹、保存他們的藝術品，不過培養皿畢卡索不會這樣做。

As they say, all good things must come to an end.

正如他們所說，所有美好的事物都有結束的一天。