Talk about art in unexpected places. Balaram Khamari’s canvas is the petri dish. He arranges microorganisms in such a way that they will form artistic patterns as they grow. The medium he uses is agar ...

Find out where gelatine comes from, what makes agar-agar, and why the boxed dessert is called China Grass. In this week’s Sound Bites. Last week we discussed air bubbles trapped in liquids. This week, ...

Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals). Our sweet of the week is mitsumame, a Japanese dessert featuring agar (kanten) jelly. You’ll find its silky ...