About the Images
 
 
The image on the left is of course a spider web.  Silk is a remarkable genetically encoded material—its tensile strength is comparable to that of steel, but its density is much lower.  For an interesting review on spider silk, click here.  The original image can be found here; reuse is subject to this license.  Credit: Automania.
Read about our efforts to create new biomaterials here.  
 
The image on the upper right is a scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli bacteria adhered to a cover slip.  Each E. coli cell is approximately 2 µm in length.  The image is presented in false-green color with small adjustments to brightness and contrast that were applied to the entire image. The original image is in the public domain and is available here.
Credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH
Read about how we reprogram E. coli here.  
 
The image on the lower right is a ray-traced image of double helical DNA created using iMol and PovRay.  The coordinates come from here.