S-STEM Scholar Carime Flores' Blog

  Discussion  The following week was after the conference. Which passed with a hitch, I was unable to attend the conference because of work. After the conference, we are now discussing what are our next steps, half of our group will be researching a different project. Where are going to do some more gram-staining on Sono grown on tgy and r2a? Along with looking into our next project. We had a meeting where each group presented their poster and discussed their next stages, if they planned to continue researching their topics, or if they would move on to something new. 

  Introduction  This previous week was the last week before the conference. The week was meant for final edits and printing Final drafts. We experience a major setback due to a miscalculation of the progression of our work for the poster.  Discussion The following week was hard. We put in overtime to finish up the poster. We rearranged the layout of our poster, along with the color scheme from blue/purple to lime green/purple. The method had to be redone, they originally were diagrams that were ultimately changed to a flowchart. We gathered the pictures of the chemical test performed and arranged them on the poster with captions. We also had to do some last-minute gram-stains to get better pictures, which ended up creating a point of contention among the group. We did 8 different gram stains on Sono that grew on tgy and r2a. There was a large discussion because we were noting a variation in gram status depending on what media D. Sonorensis was grown on. when gram-stained ...

  Intro  It is the week before the poster is due and the conference. During the week we are still working on finishing our poster and tying up loose ends. We redid some of our chemical tests for the characterization of D. sonorensis. We redid the sim test, the catalyst test, and some gram stains.  Methods  Gram-stain (steps)  Turn on the bunsen burner, and sterilize the loops Then grab some of your sample with the loop and spread it on the slide  Let it air dry and then pass the slide over the Bunsen burner to heat-fix it Then apply the dyes in this order: Crystal violet -1 minute iodine -1minute Ethanol-quick wash Safranin - 1 minute Then blot dry the slide and look at it under the microscope Catalase test Innoculate a plate with D. sonorensis and then incubate Then in the fume hood add drops of hydrogen peroxide directly onto the bacteria on  the plate  SIM test  (this experiment tests the bacteria for reduced sulfur, production of indole,...

Introduction  This week I assisted in completing some redolent and redos for the chemical test on Sono. There is about two weeks before the conference. We redid the MR VP test. We also poured more citrate and inoculated them with sono. I also assisted Madison while she completed the UV radiation experiment.  Methods Pouring plates - heat media  -let it slightly cool down  -line up plates on the edge of the table  -slightly open the lid and pour in till you cover the bottom of the plate  -leave the plate to solidify  MR VP  To complete the MRVP we get a tube that contains MRVP broth. Then we needed to inoculate, we had sono as our experimental variable, along with positive and negative control. To begin, turn on your Bunsen burner, then pass your loop through the flame to sterilize it. Then slightly open the plate of bacteria and grab some bacteria. Then grab the tube while using your other hand to take the lid off. Pass the opening of the tube thr...

  Introduction  The following week I did gram staining on staphylococcus epidermidis . We also discussed the layout of our poster. I will be creating a table that contains a list of all the biochemical tests that will be performed on D. Sonorensis. I also poured plates and helped to prepare some casein plates. I did some research on the procedure of doing a spore stain. Methods I did two different gram stains on a different batch of Staphylococcus epidermidis. plate A was inoculated on March 4th and plate B was inoculated on March 8th. I did a gram stain on both to check if there was any contamination. I followed the standard procedure of doing a gram stain.    Pouring plates -heat media  -let it slightly cool down  -line up plates on the edge of the table  -slightly open the lid and pour in till you cover the bottom of the plate  -leave the plate to solidify  Results There wasn’t contamination in the bacteria plates. Both gram-stains showed ...

  Introduction  This following week was the last week before spring break. This week I inoculated, gram-stain, and made some media. We did two chemical tests, an oxidase test and oxygen requirement test. I also pour plates for the first time  Methods I inoculated and gram-stained by the standard directions. I also made 100 ml of TGY  deionized water -100ml Agar- 1.50g  Tryptone- .3g Yeast Extraction- .3g Dextrose- .1g  pouring plates  We take autoclaved TGY broth and heat it on the hot plate. After heating it let it slightly cool down, to test if it is the right temperature touch the cool-down media to your skin. If the media is ready, line up your empty plates closed at the edge of the table. To pour, slightly open the plate and pour into the media Just till the bottom is covered with media. Then leave the plate at room temperature to Let them solidify.  Oxidase test To perform the Oxidase test, you start by inoculating a plate with bacteria, in ...