This week’s image is brought to you via the ATCC 2013 photo contest. We give you – blood agar! (Twenty points if you can remember which bug prefers this most gruesome of mediums)

Depicted above is “Black-pigmented Porphyromonas gingivalis in blood-agar plates”. This photograph sadly doesn’t look like it has a good chance of winning, but it’s up against some stiff competition (who knew HeLa cells were so cute?) Head over to the gallery and check out the other entries here.