Advances in infrared spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy allow new insight into how we “see” the beautiful world of microbes, plants, and animals. Reconstruction of large datasets provides two- and three-dimensional images where chemical distribution can be visualized in real time and chemical processes can be studied in biological systems, from museum specimen, bone structure, brain cells, bacterial and fungal degradation processes, enzyme catalysis, accumulation and distribution of substances in brain and stem cells, bioremediation of toxins in the environment, and biofuel production by algae. Speakers in this symposium will present pioneering research on chemical imaging that includes the discovery of the plant cell nucleus-nucleolus as a hot spot for iron, how sneaky iron was found co-located in mammals with a neurotransmitter chemical, and characterization of microbial biofilms.