Living The Environment : Bacteria

There are many types of bacteria that can be found in your bathroom. They might also be found on your toothbrush! I have been researching about what bacteria are lurking in my bathroom. I placed 6 petri dishes filled with agar in my bathroom. I left them there for 24 hours to collect bacteria samples.

The colonies were smooth, translucent, and had a white brownish color. The Gram stain resulted in Gram positive cocci. After the Gram stain was completed, the bacteria were streaked on a Mannitol-Salt Agar plate and a Catalase test was performed. After these test were completed a Phenol Red Dextrose Fermentation tube was inoculated, and a SIM Tube inoculated.

This experiment illustrates the importance of handwashing and proves that hand washing is worth it. Since our hands are constantly coming into contact with ourselves and others, touching surfaces, grabbing objects, being sneezed into, etc., keeping our hands clean is one of the most effective, yet simple way we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running warm water. “The human skin is a host to anywhere between 10,000-10,000,000 bacteria per square centimeter and since health care providers come into contact with pathogenic bacteria by being engaged in patient care, hand washing can reduce the risk of spreading diseases (page 3).” The objective of the experiment is to test the effectiveness of hand washing and demonstrate normal flora. This report presents the procedures and materials for the experiment, the experiment's results, and an analysis of those results.

In a laboratory setting, it often becomes necessary to identify an unknown organism. In this experiment, researchers classified an unidentified bacterium based on its physical structure, colony morphology, optimal conditions and metabolic properties. A Gram stain using crystal violet, iodine, and safranin and a simple stain using methylene blue characterized the organism’s cell wall. Cultural behavior was classified by inoculating the organism onto nutrient agar and incubating it at 37° C for 48 hours, and observing its behavior, as well as using SIM medium to test for motility. Optimal growth temperature was

An unknown bacterium was handed out by the lab instructor. The methods that have been learned so far in identifying bacteria were applied to this unknown. Procedures were followed as stated in the lab manual and biochemical test handouts. The first procedure that was done was a gram stain followed by a streak of the unknown on a TSA plate in order to determine the gram reaction and observe the colony morphology. After that, specific biochemical tests were performed for gram positive, since unknown number five was determined to be gram positive rod. The other tests were performed in this order: Mannitol Salt (MSA) streak, Blood Agar streak, Catalase test, Nitrate Reduction test, and Phenyl

In this experiment, an unknown bacterium was given to each individual student. The main purpose of this lab was to identify the given unknown bacteria going through a series of biochemical tests as one of the gram negative bacteria among six different Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium. At the very beginning, streaking method; T-streak technique was used to isolate the pure colonies. For the morphological identification of unknown bacteria, Gram Stain Method was done. Biochemical tests that were conducted for the experiment

This study was intended to prove that hand hygiene practiced according to the CDC guidelines will decrease the incidence of hospital acquired infections. This could not really be proved in this study since the hospitals were not able to maintain improvement in hand hygiene. Health care workers were familiar with guidelines but significant practice changes were not maintained. Some of the infection rates did improve during this time but the correlation with hand hygiene is not consistent. There were other practice changes occurring during this same time and those changes may be responsible for the decreased infection rates.

There were two tubes used in this process: the tube that contained the primary culture and the tube that contained the nutrient agar where the unknown bacteria would grow. First, the inoculating loop was flamed. After removing the caps of both the test tubes, they were flamed to prevent contamination of the unknown bacteria. The inoculating loop was cooled for a few seconds and was then placed into the test tube containing the bacteria. The inoculating loop with the bacteria was placed into the nutrient agar test tube for cultivation. Before the test tubes were capped, they were flamed once again. Also, isolation of the unknown bacteria had to completed. Nutrient agar was placed in the petri dish, and was left to gel for a few minutes. After the agar gelled, the inoculating loop was used to acquire bacteria and streak the unknown onto the plate for

The purpose of the bacterial unknown independent study experiment completed throughout the course of this lab was to determine the identity of an unknown bacterial species. The unknown bacteria sample was chosen from numerous samples provided by the instructor. The starting unknown sample, unknown #15 was a mixed bacterial culture and a broad approach taken to identify the sample. Various biochemical tests were completed to identify the bacterial species along with the use of databases such as Gideon and Bergey’s to compare the test results of known bacteria to the results of the unknown sample. Information was gathered from the other sources and databases and phenotypic testing completed and the results compared to the database results. Aseptic

For this experiment, I utilized unknown number three which I later identified as Staphylococcus epidermis. I concluded that the unknown organism was Staphylococcus epidermis based on numerous tests performed in the laboratory which I will discuss in detail throughout this paper. One of the first tests performed was the Gram Stain. The Gram Stain

9. In the research done on the microbial community in the Rhizosphere using two methods, which are the Cultivation-dependent method and Cultivation-independent method. The research and studies done had good results, moreover, the physiological profiling was done in 5 days by the use of several carbon sources. The maximal growth was observed for the 30 degrees celsius- incubated plate by day 3, whereas comparable values were recorded for the room to the temperature-incubated plate by day 5.

Another purpose of this experiment is to stress the importance of knowing the identity of a microorganism. Knowing the species of microorganism present in a sample provides a

Microbial growth can be affected by different environmental factors such as temperature, osmotic pressure, oxygen concentration and pH. Six experiments were carried out in this report testing for microbial growth against different environmental factors. Good aseptic techniques were used to prevent contamination, resulting in a uniform set of results that are in line with the literature.

As for the keyboard (Figure 3), the colonies were spread out, unevenly, and the mouse pad’s bacteria colony (Figure 2) was barely visible. What was surprising was the fact that the most touched region was not the area with the most bacteria. It was actually one of the least touched regions, because many people restrain from touching the screen, since it may cause the it to have finger imprints on it. Not only this, but the difference in colony sizes sparked the idea that they may be different types of bacteria on each region of the laptop. The data suggested that the bacteria from the keyboard and mousepad are the same, most likely someone's hands. Through this journey, the experiments learned the importance of cleaning not only their hands, but their laptops also because it may even carry various amounts and types of bacteria.

This assignment will encompass how the results of the personal hygiene and susceptibility microbiology experiments provide a framework for the basis of the NICE Clinical Guidance (CG139) on Infection and how crucial the reasons for the hand wash protocol and hygiene is in all healthcare settings.