Have you ever been working on something and gotten to a point where you don't think you can go any further? Well that happened to me this week.  I've been working on my hay infusion project for over 70 days now and although it has been extremely exciting, I really didn't think that after all this time I'd find any new species of microbes BUT surprise....I did.
My new addition to my macrocosm are nematodes. I was so ecstatic that after such a long time of just counting all of my known species I was now able to add a new microbe to my list.  
What are nematodes you ask?  Well according to my recent research they are the most numerous multi-cellular organisms on earth!  The are free living species which are very abundant and they feed on bacteria, other nutrients and in my case, fungi.  There are two types one is parasitic (living off the host like a type of roundworm) and a non-parasitic ones that live in the water and on land (nematode.unl.edu). 

I have a few photo's of them, they were moving so fast under the microscope that my pictures were a bit blurry but they are the worm like objects at the top right and left of the photo.

It has take me some time to compile all of my data in a format that I could manipulate using Excel, here are the first drafts of my microbe succession date tables...if nothing else they are nice to look at!!!

 

This is a graph outlining the microbes that I found from the top section of my water

Disappointed but releaved

Well congratulations to everyone who got accepted to present next month at the Estrella Mountain College student conference.  Sadly, I will not be joining you all...I know right (I was thinking the same thing).  How does an experiment with so many great photos and evolution get over looked??  I guess it was the wording of my abstract that they didn't care too much for (that's what I keep telling myself anyways!!).  It turns out to be a blessing in disguise, I have a criminology final that day.  I did however hear from Amanda C that I will still be able to present my findings to the faculty here at PC so one way or another...I'll be presenting to someone.


Well as the semester is wrapping up, I have been asked to come in on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to help the Micro teacher, Jodi.  It has really be great so far.  I LOVED mirco...it was one of my most favorite science classes and now I get to do the labs all over again, sharpen my skills as I help the class.  It is really great to get to help the students and get to know them.  I thought that I would be more nervous then I was but I think that I fit in well and Jodi and I get along well together.

We have been working on the Kirby Bauer test and finding the best antibiotics for each students patient unknown.  It has proved to be difficult for a few students but sometimes all they need is a nudge in the right direction, with just a little research and stick-to-it-ive-ness, I know that the class will be successful.  Who knows...maybe there might be a teacher in me somewhere???

One a personal note....I was asked today by the chair of my department in Criminal Justice/Forensic Science to be a student speaker for our convocation.  It is truly an honor for me and I hope to inspire my fellow classmates with a parting words.

What's really in our water?

This week I sat with Matt to try to figure out what is a good next step for my project.  Although it is coming along great...there is not a whole lot more that I can do from here, except to see classify and identify the microbes that I have.  As I mentioned earlier, all I add is DI water so my experiment never gets contaminated.  So i think that my next move is going to be sampling canal water from one of the many canals that er have here in phoenix, run the same experiment and see what is in untreated water.  I did a bit of research to see if the water that was originally collected from Papago Park, had been treated in any way.  This led me to some fascinating information about the process that takes place before we get our tap water.  This is not for the weak!! 
There are only three stages of treatment that out water goes through before we get it and depending on the location, population of your city and the sophistication of the water treatment plant, it may not even go through three stages...yes you read correctly.

The first stage is the primary: - works like a septic tank, the water is allowed to sit and the solid waste settles on the bottom while the scum floats to the top.  The bottom layer is sucked out and either dumped in a landfill or it is incinerated.  The water is them pushed through screens that separate the scum from the water.  This may be the ONLY stage before chlorine is added to kill the bacteria...GROSS

The second stage removes organic material and nutrients.  This is done by adding special bacteria to the water as it flows to large aerated tanks where the bacteria consume everything they can.  The wastewater (politically correct) then flows to settling tanks.  This process removes about 90% of all solid and organic material from the water.

The third stage is broken down into two clarifying stages, typically chemicals are used to remove phosphorous and nitrogen from the water.  The chlorine is added to the water to kill the remaining bacteria...this is the reason why our tap water tastes like pool water!!

Now our water is read to drink....or is it...you be the judge!!

Don't swallow the (pond) water!!

Well I don't know about anyone else but I was excited to submit my abstract proposal last Friday, for the upcoming student conference at Estrella Mountain College.  Maybe its because I didn't have enough data for the ASU conference but I'm ready now!!! 

I try to take pictures of my microbes twice a week.  I want to leave a bit of time in between photos in order for new communities to grow and mature and I can't see the growth if I see it everyday.   Kinda like how your grandma always think you look bigger when you visit....So now, every time I see my jar I see a lot more algae/green slim covering the inside of my jar.  Here is a little visual comparison for you of about a month.

Feb. 14, 2013

March 25, 2013

                                   
                       
This week I had so much going on that I was able to take just under 100 photos and I still have a photo day tomorrow.  With some help from Matt (sending me morphology links), I am able to classify a lot of my microbes down to the species, which is totally awesome seeing as my specimens are microscopic.

 As every week passes, the detail, size and variety of what I see expands.  Then I realized something the other day, in talking to Matt my realization it was confirmed.  Soon there will be a plateau or a peak, depending on how you look at it with my results.  My experiment is in a big 'ol pickle jar and the only thing that gets added to it is DI water, so if I have nothing to contaminate it, I can never have more complex species then what I'm seeing now.   In nature, flies lay eggs and larva is introduced, pollution and smog can kill, harm and alter what you find in a pond or lake.  A large dust storm can bring contaminants from miles away and deposit them in the pond.  All of these factors can change the ecosystem that is in any pond. 

Its not like I really need to add a variable to my project just yet, I'm still keeping very busy with what I have going on in my jar.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from early on this week.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

P.S. I'm thinking of blowing up some of the photos to print and hang them up at home.  Would you consider that to be abstract or abnormal???

Microbe party

Anabaena (green spiral) and Navicula (oval shape), Protococcus (green circles)

Pediastrum

Merismopedia, Anabaena, Protococcus, Navicula

Closterium

Scenedesmus, Synedra, Rotifer (big guy in the upper right)

 Really makes me think back to all the pond water I swallowed as  a kid!!!

Spring time blue-green algae

Well, I hope that everyone had a great Spring break.  Mine was wonderful; we went to New Mexico for a full week of farm fresh life.  There is nothing like hearing the rooster’s cock-a-doo-doodle in the early morn and eating eggs the ways nature intended...hormone free.  For once, I didn't feel bad if I didn't finish my dinner...it went into a bowl for the chickens for the next day.  Mix all that up with hay, fresh ground corn, crushed oyster shell (for harder egg shells), and some other grains, these free range chickens are both happy and delicious!!

                                            
I was lucky enough to have Matt help me out last week as we were gone.  He was able to pull a few samples for me so that I didn't miss any new microbes or trends over the week, so thank you very much.  There is so much going on with my project, every week there seems to be a new microbe to research and look at new climbing and falling numbers in populations under the microscope. I have categorized what I see into three different classifications, R for rare (population 0 - 5 per slide), C for common (population 6-15 per slide) and A for abundant (15 + per slide).  This is the most effective way that I have come up with so far to keep track of population growing and declining numbers as everything that I am looking at is so small.

                                             
  I am currently on day 49 and my pickle jar is beginning to show the signs of algae over-growth.
This is evident when I mount my wet slides as most of my population comes from the green and blue-green algae groups.  Below are a few of my favorite pictures from this week’s slides...enjoy!!

The large dark microbe is Genera Calonei

 

Both blue-green algae, work-like is Oscillatoria and the ordered dots are Merismopedia

  

This creepy guy is a Rotifer and I'm pretty sure it is a Dicranophorus (at 40x)

  

Mother Nature is...AWSOME

Sometimes there is so much to do and so much to say that it is hard to start to get it all out.  I've had a really exciting week in my experiment but I didn't think that way at the beginning.  I thought that I was doing something wrong, as I was seeing a major decline in variety and number of microbes species.  I wasn't seeing anything!
                                                  





                                                    NOTHING

 At first I thought that I was just spoiled,  I had been using the higher powered microscopes that the professors use for the camera feature, and on Tuesday and Wednesday because of class schedules, I wasn't able to so I used the regular microscope and I couldn't find anything!  I tried a second sample to see if I had made a mistake but again...I saw only a few diatoms and some algae.  What happened to my microbe micro-city?  Well  after speaking with Matt, it all became clear...this was what I was supposed to be seeing.  The circle of life, the rise and fall of species, survival of the fittest, it was the end of the cycle for my diatoms, euglina, navicula and rotifers.  As they die off they release nitrogen and blue green algae thrive on nitrogen.
                        
 So now I am beginning to see a decline in those microbe but seeing an increase of green and blue-green algae like Spriogyra, Nostoc and Anabaena.  It is amazing to see how this is all evolving, Science and Mother Nature...AWESOME
                                           
(Antievolution legislation: Missouri and Kentucky attack science ...www.skepticalraptor.com)

What's in your drink??

What are you drinking??

“The naked truth” is what I’m drinking!  Josh and I have gone back and forth on this one.  We have been weighing the benefits for the Green machine.   I decided to take a look at the drink without the “naked eye’.  I put it under the microscope to see if I had any coloration between what I have been studying with microbes and algae in my hay infusion project and this drink which I love so much.  And believe it or not…they are same.    

       

CHLORELLA                                                              SPIRULINA

 

We are only beginning to grasp the incredible nutritional value of blue-green algae, spirulina and chlorella but these super-foods have a reputation that reaches far back into history. A form of blue-green algae was consumed regularly hundreds of years ago by Aztecs, while spirulina was a favorite among native peoples in the Sahara desert region of Africa. Today blue-green algae and spirulina are some of the top super-foods, providing extraordinary nutrition in a time when most food sources are of poor nutritional quality.
Blue-green algae and spirulina, which is a specific form of blue-green algae, are found in nature growing in the still, alkaline waters of lakes and ponds. They are natural foods that have existed since life began. Their nutritional content is broad and highly concentrated.

We are now seeing a jump in the population of people that are getting healthy and eating foods that are super packed with vitamins, andtioxidents and by adding fruit, these green drinks are getting easier to swallow!

 Blue-green algae and spirulina are rich in vitamins A, C, E and the B-complex vitamins, including vitamins B12 and B6. Since these vitamins are packaged in their natural form, they are in a highly usable state that makes them far superior to modern vitamin supplements.

Both of these types of algae have tremendous benefits to us as humans and as a major contributing factor to the microbe food chain. 

If you haven't tried this flavor yet, I recommend that you do!