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We’re starting our final project for my micro class, we get to choose whatever microbe we want and present on it. It’s worth a lot of points so I want to do well, but I also want something intriguing! Pathogens are cool and all, but I am actually really interested in food micro as well. We talked about fermentation of course, so is there any other cool microbes out there that are food/drink related? I’ll take any and all suggestions, pathogen and non-pathogen, just blow my mind please! 🙏

ETA: college micro

Hi all I am staining samples of mycobacterium bovis to check presence/absence (I have some positive controls). This is for a research project. I'm running the Kinyoun method of the Zeihl Neilsen stain which doesn't require heating the dye on the slide. I stain for 3 mins (flood the slide), wash in water, decolourise in acid alcohol (dripping down slide) for about 2 mins. Then wash and counterstain with methylene blue, wash, dry and observe under oil immersion lens. It's hard to tell but i think I can see bacilli and that they are purple; I believe they should be pink.

My problem is there's lots of purple crud everywhere after I stain. When I add the carbol fuchsin there is this metallic looking precipitate that floats on top, it seems like it sticks on the slide, and then it's really hard to get it to dissolve when they decolourise. I never seem to get it all. And I am concerned this purple crud is causing everything to stain purple.

Does anyone know how I can avoid this precipitate? Is it because it is drying out during the staining? Would staining in a koplin jar help?

hi, I'm struggling a lot studyong microbio. How do I organize my study? Where to start, I'm so lost, failing my subject 🥺

What is the biological/evolutionary explanation for their shape? When they multiply, do they already form a new pair?