A Microbial Sherlock Holmes

The term is winding toward the final weeks, so my lab final is underway. Each student in lab was given a broth with a mixture of two unknown microorganisms mixed in it. The lab final consists of separating and culturing them individually, then running tests to check characteristics and narrow down the field, examine them microscopically, etc. The end result is a final term paper explaining the process, and an accurate identification of both unknown organisms.

Today was pretty basic - heat up some agar deeps (nutrient agar to make petri dishes), then pour the petri plates with the agar and let it cool, then streak the mixture of organism into the plate so as to spread out the microbes in hopes of getting identifiably separate colonies. If it goes well, then Wednesday I'll have the two organisms separated and be able to run tests on each individually. If the streak plate doesn't pan out, I'll have to re-pour the agar and re-streak, putting me behind schedule. Here's hoping.

I'll try and keep y'all updated as to my little microbial mystery and how it progresses!