Day Two: The Collection

The next time you fish in the Ohio River you will not want to keep the fish. Most of the class went on a field trip to the banks of the Ohio River and collected samples.  Jessica and I decided to test a rock which was in shallow water on the bank.

Since the rock was under water, we did not have to use the agar broth because the location was already wet. We used the sterile cotton swab and wiped the rock a couple times. We then rubbed the sample over the whole agar plate (Petri dish). I'm sure something will grow. The question is what that will be. There is some crazy stuff in that river. Back in the lab we put them in the incubator and we will see what happens on Tuesday

Day One: The Basics

Today was all about safety in the lab. We learned the proper way to enter and exist the lab to avoid carrying anything harmful into or out of it. We also practiced the aseptic technique for transferring cultures from one tube to another.

 That made us excited to get to do it for real.  The other thing the class did was we split into two groups and each made a different type of culture collection tool. Our group made the agar plates (Petri dishes) and the other group made the agar broth tubes. The agar mixture we made was a liquid when it was warm, but once it cooled it became a solid. Before placing it in the Petri dishes to cool, both things had to be made sterile. We put them into an autoclave. The autoclave heated it to a very high temperature for 15 minutes. No bacteria can survive that type of heat. When the liquids are removed they are completely sterile and ready to use. So now that we know safety in lab, the fun can officially begin!