Although there is no obvious relationship between cymatics and cells, I thought both topics were so interesting that I decided to cover them in a single blog.

Let’s start with cymatics, which is the study of visible sound and vibration, bridging physics and art. When sound frequencies pass through a physical medium—such as a metal plate, sand, or water—they cause the material to arrange into geometric shapes and mandalas. These patterns occur naturally due to standing waves and resonance.

My friend, Rick Curl, just sent me a link to a video showing a variety of interesting cymatic implementations and realizations

This reminded me of a video of a musical fire table I saw some time ago (I occasionally toy with the idea of building one for use on our back porch in the fall, toasting marshmallows to the sound of Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Yes).

As I say, although there’s no obvious relationship between cymatics and cells, I thought this next item was so interesting that I couldn’t wait to share it. My friend Jay Dowling sent me a link to a video describing how scientists have just built the first artificial cell from scratch.

I found this particularly interesting in light of a book I recently read: How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology by Philip Ball. I talk about this in excruciating exhilarating depth in my column: Bumblebees Can’t Fly, and Humans Can’t Exist (I Have Proof).

As always, what do you think about any or all of this?