To the Marina of Steubenville!

To the Marina of Steubenville

Class: Thursday, August 29, 2013

Today was just another boring day of lab. Nope! No such thing with this professor!

First, we checked out our fingerprint agar plates, pre-handwashing and post-handwashing. Here are the results!

Sierra and Juliet's bacterial growth from fingerprints before and after washing hands

Before washing our hands, Juliet and I had only a few spots of bacteria.  Yet interestingly enough, afterward washing our hands, we both had more bacteria growing on the agar plate.  Why? A potential hypothesis is perhaps the paper towels not being as sanitary as we thought.




As we discussed where we would collect a sample of bacteria to grow on our newly, personally-made nutrient agar petri dishes, Dr. Pathakamuri suggested that we go to the Ohio River.  There would be plenty to sample there and plus we could firsthand experience the musty, filthy waters of the river. So off we went!

Collecting samples at the Marina

After some exploring, our group sampled two subjects: the Steubenville air, as well as a fishing boat.

Juliet collecting Steubenville air sample

To collect a sample of the microbes present in the air, Juliet wonderfully waved and danced about with the petri dish, with the lid off.

Swabbing the boat

Next, we swabbed the side of a man's fishing boat.














It was an adventure! And we are all rather curious as to what exactly will grow in our cultures...

Medical Microbiology Class!