Mission Impossible: Kill the Bacteria & Obligate Anaerobe Test Results...oh and DON'T pick that nose!!
Class: Tuesday November 12, 2013
Today we put our investigation into Mystery Bacteria J on hold to embark on a new and exciting mission: killing bacteria!! This little monsters are everywhere, so it's good to know how to nab 'em before they strike. We decided to swab Matt's phone because, let's face it, it's probably pretty gross. I mean we touch those things every day, carry them with us everywhere, set them down in God-knows-what, and even hold them up to our faces....see? Nasty!
So, can we kill them? Let's find out! We worked with Jess and Mary Magree because there were 8 disinfectants/antibacterial cleaning agents to use, so we each tested four, using a swab from Matt's phone. We tested...
2% Lysol spray (this is what we use to disinfect the counters in lab before and after class)
Foaming Antibacterial hand soap in Wildberry Freesia scent. yum.
That would be some UV radiation baby!!! UV light is supposedly very effective at killing all types of bacteria, including endospores. So of course, we put it to the test by taking a small bit of each bacterial sample, mixing it into a nasty cocktail of bacterial floaters, and then zapped it with the SteriPen, which emanates concentrated UVB light waves.
We did a little bit of work today with Bacteria J, just to check the obligate anaerobe test. This is the anoxalte chamber which, once it is sealed on, uses up all the oxygen so the bacteria have to grow in an anaerobic environment....
...or not. Ours is not obligate anaerobe, which is supportive of our other findings thus far, that Bacteria J is a facultative anaerobe. It needs at least a little bit of oxygen to grow, but is able to grow sparingly in low oxygen environment, as shown by the thioglycollate test.
Listen up people! Your mothers were right!! Don't pick your nose...wanna nose why? It's filled with Staphylococcus Aureus! Yikes! But fear not, this particular strain is not necessarily dangerous. Staph is actually all over the body, but in individualize with healthy immune systems it not colonize. Still, if you are going to pick your nose, at the very least PLEASE don't eat it!
Lysol disinfectant spray (in Mandarin Orange)
And Lysol disinfectant wipes. This product as surfactants, quinines, as well as the disinfectant chemicals which rid the surface of organic material that would inhibit the ability of the disinfectant agents to kill the bacteria.
Let us see if these products really do what they are telling us they do...
In the meantime, check THIS out! Is it a light saber? Is it nuclear? What is it???
Good work, Matt, you kill those bacteria!
...or not. Ours is not obligate anaerobe, which is supportive of our other findings thus far, that Bacteria J is a facultative anaerobe. It needs at least a little bit of oxygen to grow, but is able to grow sparingly in low oxygen environment, as shown by the thioglycollate test.Listen up people! Your mothers were right!! Don't pick your nose...wanna nose why? It's filled with Staphylococcus Aureus! Yikes! But fear not, this particular strain is not necessarily dangerous. Staph is actually all over the body, but in individualize with healthy immune systems it not colonize. Still, if you are going to pick your nose, at the very least PLEASE don't eat it!
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