four months later… conclusions…

During the last four months I have learned many things, from preparing media to screening methods.  Thanks to that, I am more than excited to take my first microbiology course next semester.  I never thought I could be more passionate about microbiology than I already was.

Nevertheless, there has also been some barriers.  At first, the screening method I was using to find E coli. clones that hydrolyse urea was not working.  The clones were not growing at all, I presume this was due to the stress the media provided and the small amount of bacteria the screening required.  To overcome that barrier, I recently began to use another screening method, one that required a higher quantity of bacteria.  Hence, the clones began to grow as they normally do in other media.

My main objective and expectation for the next semester is to culture a higher number of clones and hopefully find one that hydrolyzes urea.  In conclusion, this has been a wonderful experience to the extent that it has motivated me to participate in a summer internship to continue learning methods and research techniques. 

~ by Angel on April 25, 2008.