Our Story

In the mirror, we all see ourselves as one whole, independent organism. Wave at your reflection. Smile. Wiggle your ears. You might think, ‘Hey, this is me.’

But think again.

You easily overlook the trillions of bacteria that live on and inside your body - your very own microbiota. The earth is teeming with bacteria and other microorganisms, and guess what? The place in the world with the highest density of these tiny creatures is in right in your colon.

What if you could make music from your microbiota?

That’s what our community biology lab at EMW Street Bio wanted to find out, and that is how Biota Beats was born: Biota Beats is an interdisciplinary project designed to help translate this complex microbiota-related information onto a higher and more visceral level: music. The motifs of this project are clear: of community, of transfer and exchange, a celebration of art, science, and life in all its forms.

Our team has built a record player that can hold a petri dish plated with bacterial cultures from the human microbiome. Images taken of these colonies are translated into sound by a program coded by our teammates.
With Biota Beats, you are able to listen to music from different bacterial cultures!

The human microbiome