CRESMET Anna Hicks July 14-18

Monday - I prepared solutions to test for petri dish bacterial assay in the classroom.  Specifically, I needed to know if we could use the microwave instead of the autoclave to set the medium in the petri dishes.  The solution set perfectly using the microwave which will save me from having to drive down to ASU to autoclave the petri dishes in order to perform the lab.  I then took bacterial swabs of the doorknob and the elevator button to see if there was any bacterial/yeast growth.  The purpose was two-fold:  firstly to see if bacteria would reproduce on the microwaved agar and secondly, to see if it would duplicate appropriately without the use of the incubator as we do not have that option at the high school.  Tomorrow will tell us the answers.

Tuesday - There is almost no visible growth on the plates today.  Tomorrow I will check them again.  I checked chemical and equipment order books for catalog numbers and prices on all of the items needed for the plate assay and the ELISA.  Most were found but it took a long time to find the best prices for the ordering.  I retrieved the medium from the autoclave for the research project.

Wednesday - Today there is visible growth on the plates!  That's really a relief...but obviously room temperature will need more time to show the growth on the plates when the students perform this test at the school.  I cleaned equipment (the yucky job!) but got it mostly done.  We then (the entire lab staff) got to sit in on a Master thesis being defended!  Everything new and different is exciting!  This was interesting.  We then went back to the lab duties. 

Thursday - There is no lab this morning as our grad student has a medical appointment.

Friday - We will go in and see if there is anything to finish in the lab.