# Microbe Experiment



## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

My nephew and I like to do simple experiments together.

We cut some dead grass clippings and put into a 1 liter beaker and added some distilled water.

Then we put the beaker in a water bath set to about 35 degrees C.

We've found a couple of microbes, but they are not very plentiful.

Can anyone suggest a way to get these things growing faster.

So far we've seen two, both look to be the same kind.

We would like to see a varity of different organisms.

Thanks!

kadriver


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## Palladium (Feb 20, 2013)

Have you tested it with stannous?


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

We are using a low power stereo microscope, the eye piece says 15x, but I do not know what other magnification is at the main lens of the scope.

kadriver


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

Ha Ha !!


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## Palladium (Feb 20, 2013)

Yeah, afraid i can't be much help here.


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## auratus72 (Feb 20, 2013)

Hi, may be I can help, what organisms you are trying to grow, bacteria, protozoans ? 

Oh 15X you wont be able to see bacteria, largest and easy grown are paramecia (slipper animacule), 100 microns, 

here is the procedure

Take banana peel pour boiling water over it , cool and let it decay 24-36 hours , keep temperature 26-28 degrees celcius afterwards
after 36 hours add a few ml of aged pond or aquarium water (out side pond if you are not in snow fall zone) and let it sit 1-2 days and then check for life.

This is what goes behind, banana peel or grass decomposes and release nutrients (hot water helps cell brakeage ), after cooling and at 26-28 degrees bacteria feed on this sap and multiply rapidly , when pond or aquarium water is added (which most of the time contains these protozoans) these critters feed on bacteria and multiply like carzy. hope it will help. Sal


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## glondor (Feb 20, 2013)

spit in it.


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## etack (Feb 20, 2013)

get some pond water lots to look at there.

Eric


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## philddreamer (Feb 20, 2013)

How about some yeast or yogurt...


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

I didn't think of pond water - weve got one right around the corner.


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## philddreamer (Feb 20, 2013)

Do you have ducks and or geese that visit that pond?
Be carefull with e-coli from their "poop"...


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## Geo (Feb 20, 2013)

if you know of any natural springs where the water comes right out of the ground, you may have better luck finding any microbes that thrive in nutrient poor conditions. these microbes would be the type that live off of the natural methane in ground water. what are you trying to accomplish?


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

auratus72 said:


> Hi, may be I can help, what organisms you are trying to grow, bacteria, protozoans ?
> 
> Oh 15X you wont be able to see bacteria, largest and easy grown are paramecia (slipper animacule), 100 microns,
> 
> ...



How did I miss this - this is exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you!

kadriver


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## Auful (Feb 20, 2013)

Another way, which requires the purchase of petri dishes with agar (http://www.amazon.com/EZ-BioResearc...1368155&sr=8-1&keywords=petri+dishes+and+agar): 
Get some grass, preferably green
Mix it in some water
use a q tip to spread the slurry on a petri dish: View attachment streakplates.pdf

set the petri dish in a warm location
It will grow!!
This was a lab I had in microbiology class in college. Our lab goal was to isolate and identify a specific unknown bacterium. I was able to do just that quite successfully with this procedure. 


Alternatively a piece of moistened bread or cheese in a Ziploc bag atop the fridge will grow mold and bacteria, or swab just about anything with a moist q-tip: computer keyboard, doorknob, cell phone, kitchen sponge. They all have bacteria!!

Best of luck!

Edit: added alternatives and clarification.


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

Phil, we have both - thanks for the heads up. I made my own pond water by placing old grass clippings in distilled water then letting it sit for a week. The critters were not growing very fast so I set the experiment in the water bath - this has helped.

I'll add the banana peel as feed for the microbes.

Geo, we (my 7 yo nephew and I) are just looking for for some fun things to do together in my shop. He loves it over there. This does not have much to do with refining, but I knew from among the pool of refining members there would be someone who could help - and I was right (see the banana peel post above).

I am also showing him some of the refining basics.

I had a container of silver sweeps from small spills of cement and silver crystal. It was full of junk like hair, paper, dirt and such. Together, in the fume hood, we carefully incinerated it and then digested the sweeps in dilute nitric.

Then we cemented on copper, washed the silver and melted it into a button. I let him have the button - about 1/2 ounce to keep as a tribute to his first batch of silver cell anode material.

I showed him how to put on the safety equipment and how to carefully handle the acid.

I even bought a box of extra small nitrile gloves for him.

Nephews are like grandchildren. We get to have fun for a day, then mom comes and gets him!

He is a great kid and smart as a whip. He actually will stop and ponder a question before he answers.

Sometimes his pondering could be misinterpreted as he didn't hear, or he just don't care. But then he answers in a well thought out manner! I was amazed the first time he did that.

kadriver


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

Auful said:


> Another way, which requires the purchase of petri dishes with agar (http://www.amazon.com/EZ-BioResearc...1368155&sr=8-1&keywords=petri+dishes+and+agar):
> Get some grass, preferably green
> Mix it in some water
> use a q tip to spread the slurry on a petri dish:
> ...



I am ordering some Petri dishes and agar for doing these kinds of experiments.

Congratulations on finding a new microbe!

kadriver


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## butcher (Feb 20, 2013)

That is great, teaching him, I know the science of cementing silver will open his mind to the fascinating world of science, and watching things grow in a dish, I think it is great you can have fun with your nephew, sharing the things that interest you, and spark interest in his young mind, which will help to get him more interested in searching answers to the newly posted questions in his mind, learning this way and having fun doing it is the best way for him to develop his education, spark interest, give him the tools to find the answers he seeks, and he will learn, and learn better than any other method, I also know this is a lot of fun for you too, by helping him to learn you also have to learn to keep up with him, thanks for sharing this, it puts a big smile on my face just thinking about you two in your lab.


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## Auful (Feb 20, 2013)

butcher said:


> That is great, teaching him, I know the science of cementing silver will open his mind to the fascinating world of science, and watching things grow in a dish, I think it is great you can have fun with your nephew, sharing the things that interest you, and spark interest in his young mind, which will help to get him more interested in searching answers to the newly posted questions in his mind, learning this way and having fun doing it is the best way for him to develop his education, spark interest, give him the tools to find the answers he seeks, and he will learn, and learn better than any other method, I also know this is a lot of fun for you too, by helping him to learn you also have to learn to keep up with him, thanks for sharing this, it puts a big smile on my face just thinking about you two in your lab.



I agree completely. Science is fascinating and inescapable! However, many kids get bored of science due to lack of understanding, poor teaching, other reasons. Science is often presented as being esoteric and not applicable when quite the opposite is true. I think it's too bad, because chemistry and biology are so wonderful and have everything to do with normal every day life. To encourage a child and foster their interest in science is a wonderful endeavor. Keep up the good work!


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## gold4mike (Feb 20, 2013)

I bought a little USB powered microscope for under $20.00 (if I remember correctly) to get a better look at fine gold wires.

You can view and save pics and video to your computer with it. It might be a fun addition for him as well.


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## kadriver (Feb 20, 2013)

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

I added a light to the setup - someone said light would help them grow.

Plus I have setup the banana peel with boiling water.

Here is a quote from one of the writings of H.G. Wells written before "War of the Worlds";

"And all the time these creatures are living their vigorous, fussy little lives; in this drop of water they are being watched by a creature of whose presence they do not dream, who can wipe them all out of existence with a stroke of his thumb, and who is withal as finite, and sometimes as fussy and unreasonably energetic, as themselves. He sees them, and they do not see him, because he has senses they do not possess, because he is too incredibly vast and strange to come, save as an overwhelming catastrophe, into their lives. Even so, it may be, the dabbler himself is being curiously observed.... The dabbler is good enough to say that the suggestion is inconceivable. I can imagine a decent amœba saying the same thing."

He must have been looking down the barrel of a microscope when he wrote that.

kadriver


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## lazersteve (Feb 21, 2013)

One microbe said to the other: "I had a terrible dream last night that I was being watched by a giant alien."; The other replied: "You must be crazy, there are no such things as giant aliens because if there were, we would see them." :lol: 

Kevin,

You should do some micro-scale gas experiments with him. 

Microscale Gas Chemistry

There are several relatively safe gases you can easily make with him, and it ties in with your experiments as well!

Steve


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## Auful (Feb 22, 2013)

lazersteve said:


> Kevin,
> 
> You should do some micro-scale gas experiments with him.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the link, Steve. I purchased the book "Caveman Chemistry" a couple of years ago. It is an _amazing_ book with really practical chemistry experiments one can do at home. The book does a suitable job at explaining the chemistry. I don't particularly enjoy the philosophical bent of the author, but was willing to look past that for the learning experience. My favorite experiment is soap-making. It is the first soap recipe I have seen given in grams; very practical if small amounts fat are on hand. I recommend this book to any chemistry enthusiast! 

http://www.amazon.com/Caveman-Chemi...=1361548829&sr=8-1&keywords=caveman+chemistry


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## lazersteve (Feb 22, 2013)

I downloaded the book in full before he started selling it about 7 years ago. I'm sure the newer version has some changes, but the version I have is great in itself.

Steve


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## glondor (Feb 22, 2013)

My son does micro gas experiments on us daily.


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## gold4mike (Feb 22, 2013)

:shock: :roll:


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## Geo (Feb 22, 2013)

would you call that a "gas micro-burst".


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## bmgold2 (Feb 28, 2014)

Auful said:


> Thanks for the link, Steve. I purchased the book "Caveman Chemistry" a couple of years ago. It is an _amazing_ book with really practical chemistry experiments one can do at home. The book does a suitable job at explaining the chemistry. I don't particularly enjoy the philosophical bent of the author, but was willing to look past that for the learning experience. My favorite experiment is soap-making. It is the first soap recipe I have seen given in grams; very practical if small amounts fat are on hand. I recommend this book to any chemistry enthusiast!
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Caveman-Chemi...=1361548829&sr=8-1&keywords=caveman+chemistry



I was going to mention this book/website on this forum and did a search and found this thread. The book is written in a rather strange way but the information was worth reading to find out how substances were or could be made.

The old website http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/ contains lots of information that should be helpful to anyone wanting to learn about chemistry and understand chemical reactions.

One section in particular http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/rxn.1/index.html I printed out and am still trying to understand but I'm sure, once I do, it will be a great help in understanding the different reactions and formulas we use in refining gold. The old site also contains other useful information that would be worth checking out.

As for the microbe experiment that was the original purpose of this thread, you could try growing phytoplankton. I did this years ago when I had a saltwater aquarium. I had as much fun growing them and watching them under the microscope as I did watching the aquarium. Well, almost as much. It was also fun watching the coral and little bugs and worms eating these microscopic things. I bought pure cultures of the phytoplankton but if you have an aquarium (saltwater or freshwater) you should be able to get some of these "bugs" from the filter and then grow them out to study them. Brine shrimp (A.K.A. sea monkeys) can be hatched from eggs bought at a pet shop which would make a good experiment to study under a microscope or even magnifying glass. 

https://www.google.com/#q=growing+phytoplankton+with+miracle+grow

Search for live foods for aquariums to find lots of other interesting creatures to grow and study. Things like white worms, micro worms, vinegar eels, etc.

Have fun and keep the young generation interested in this sort of thing.


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## sharkhook (Feb 28, 2014)

With microbes, especially bacteria, use rain water, pond water, and the like. Try it at a very narrow temperature ranges. Most bacteria can only live within a narrow range to be the dominate organism. This is the reason when pieces of the same meat rot at different times of the year they smell differently. I make a food bait for trapping coyotes, not to give away how I do it, but if it is not done at the right temperature it loses half of it's ability to attract them. That temperature range is plus or minus 2 degrees. There is a specific bacteria that cultures in the specific meat, under the right conditions. A trick I learned from a collage professor with a P.H.D. in Microbiology. He used to teach at the University of New Mexico, I assume he is still there, been a couple of years since I talked to him. I need to call him, this thread reminded me how long it has been since we have spoken to each other. Thanks for the reminder.


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## justinhcase (Feb 28, 2014)

A few years ago, scientists in New Zealand helped develop a process called phytomining. Plants are grown on gold-rich soil, such as waste from mines. They take up the gold and store it as nanoparticles throughout their tissues. The plants are harvested, and the gold is recovered and accumulated into ‘normal’ gold. Phytomining can also be used to recover other metals.
Just cant see any other use for a beaker full of grass


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## bmgold2 (Feb 28, 2014)

justinhcase said:


> A few years ago, scientists in New Zealand helped develop a process called phytomining. Plants are grown on gold-rich soil, such as waste from mines. They take up the gold and store it as nanoparticles throughout their tissues. The plants are harvested, and the gold is recovered and accumulated into ‘normal’ gold. Phytomining can also be used to recover other metals.
> Just cant see any other use for a beaker full of grass



Getting a kid interested in science seems like as good a use as any. The microscopic life in a drop of water is very interesting to see. Makes you think twice about the water you drink.


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## Anonymous (Feb 28, 2014)

Absolutely brilliant OP Kadriver


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## sharkhook (Feb 28, 2014)

justinhcase said:


> A few years ago, scientists in New Zealand helped develop a process called phytomining. Plants are grown on gold-rich soil, such as waste from mines. They take up the gold and store it as nanoparticles throughout their tissues. The plants are harvested, and the gold is recovered and accumulated into ‘normal’ gold. Phytomining can also be used to recover other metals.
> *Just cant see any other use for a beaker full of grass*




I wouldn't give a child my acids as a way to become interested in Science, I would give them a microscope and a jar of grass and water. And the time spent with that child is priceless, once time is gone, it can't be regained. Grass and water with a microscope is one of things my Father did with me, and I recall that even now well over 40 years later.


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## justinhcase (Mar 1, 2014)

I would always make sure I only gave them dilute acid to play with .a small burn is the best way for a kid to learn if that is you goal.
I was given my first Acid and Alkali when I was ten.luckily my mum was a vet and my dad an air craft engineer so I never got child's toys
If you want a good biological sample to study look at some milk ,of course you may find it hard to get said child to drink the old moo juice again but it is much more active than pond water.


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