Science Art: Ball-shaped blob of California black worms, 2023.

Scientific illustration of a tangled ball of pink worms (called blackworms) against a black background.
Scientific illustration of a tangled ball of pink worms (called blackworms) against a black background.

This is a biological photo that is also a mathematical photo. It’s a ball of worms that Georgia Tech researchers were studying, because, as it says on the National Science Foundation image gallery where I found this photo, “These tangled assemblies occur over the span of a few minutes, yet they can untangle in mere milliseconds.

You can read more about the tangled topology behind these wriggly critters here at Georgia Tech’s website.